FROM   THE  LIBRARY  OF 


REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D. 


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HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 


l  nM  M  I.  MOB  \TI  \  K     "I       in  I 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH 


TJPPEK  TEN-MILE,  I 'A. 


|i|;i.l\  ERBD  MAUi  I!  29,  1859. 


i; .   O,  WIS  E8,    I).  I) 


PROFES90B  IS  WA8HIHOTOS  COLLEO E 


}Jut>lisluti  bn  lirqufSt. 


pittsbi:  i;<;  II: 

•i;i\ll.l>    »i     w.    S.     HAVEN,    COENBB    OF    MAltKKT    AM'    SECOND    9TBBBT8. 

M.DCOC.LIX. 


HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE. 


"Forasmuch  as  many  HAVE  TAKEN  in  hand  TO  BET  FORTH  in  ORDER  a  dk- 
CI.ARATION  OF  THOSE  THINGS  which  AUK  most  BUBBLY  BELIEVED  AMONG  is. 
EVEN  AS  THEY  DELIVERED  TIIF.M  INTO  IS,  WHICH  WERE  FROM  TIIK  BEGINNING 
EYE-WITNESSES,  ABB  MINISTERS  OF  TIIK  WORD;  IT  SEEMED  GOOD  To  Ml'.  ALSO, 
HAVING  HAD  PERFECT  IN  DKRST  A  N  D I  N(i  OF  ALL  TIIINliS  FROM  TIIK  VF.ItV  FIRST, 
[HOBE  EXACTLY,  "HAVING  ACCURATELY  INVESTIGATED  KVF.KY  THING  FliOM  TIIK 
VKUV  FIRST,"*]  TO  WIUTK  INTO  THEE  IN  OBDEB,  [i.  C.  IN  AN  OBDEBLY  AND 
METHODICAL  MANNF.K,]  MOST  KNCF.I.I.KNT  ThEOPHILUS,  THAT  TlloC  MIGHTEST 
KNOW    TIIK    CERTAINTY  OF  THoSK    THINGS   WHEREIN   Tllol     HAST    BEEN    INSTRCCTKD." 

Luke  1 : 1-4. 

The  Son  of  God,  incarnate  in  our  nature,  having  been  ex- 
alted by  the  Father  to  be  head  over  all  things  to  the  church, 
sits  upon  the  throne  of  universal  empire,  the  blessed  and  only 
Potentate,  the  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  He  holds  in 
his  hand  all  hearts,  all  kingdoms,  all  events.  His  providence, 
which  is  administered  wholly  for  Ins  church,  and  with  a  view 
to  its  ultimate  triumph  over  all  enemies,  is  universal,  infallible 
and  irresistible.  At  one  time,  lie  curbs  the  passions  of  men, 
producing  a  comparative  calm  in  the  nations;  at  another,  lie 
lays  the  bridle  on  their  neck,  permitting  them  to  embroil  and 
agitate  the  world.  Sometimes  his  purposes  an-  best  subserved 
by  mighty  conquerors  ;  at  others,  by  wise  lawgivers.  When  he 
needs  the  former,  he  inspires  them  and  their  armies  with 
invincible  courage;  when  he  requires  the  latter,  he  breathes 
into  their  minds  wisdom  and  sagacity,  lie  gives  and  he  takes 
away  power,  transferring  it,  by  a  sovereign  deeree,  from  one 
man  to  another,  from  one  house  to  another,  from  one  people  to 
another.  Thus  does  our  God,  sovereign  in  purpose,  infinite 
in  greatness,  supreme  in  power,  and  incomprehensible  in  wis- 
dom, govern  all  the  tribes  and  kingdoms  of  earth.  Let  us  talk 
not  of  chance ;  or,  if  we  use  the  term  at  all,  let  it  be  as  a  cover 

*  Bloomfield. 


to  our  ignorance.  That  which  is  chance  to  our  fallible  and 
uncertain  counsels,  is  an  established  purpose  in  that  eternal 
counsel  which  sees  and  arranges  the  end  from  the  beginning; 
which  prepares  effects  in  causes  the  most  remote:  and  which 
embraces,  in  one  harmonious  order,  however  disjointed  that 
order  may  appear  to  us,  the  entire  sequence  of  events,  from  the 
birth  to  the  consummation  of  all  tilings. 

All  this  expenditure  of  divine  wisdom  and  power  is  for  the 
welfare,  increase  and  perfection  of  the  church.  The  whole 
administration  of  providence  has  no  other  end  than  this.  The 
revolution  of  empires,  the  rise  and  fall  of  states,  the  change  of 
dynasties,  the  succession  of  governments,  and  all  the  vast  flow 
of  human  affairs,  symbolized  by  the  mystic  wheels  of  Ezekiel's 
vision,  are  directed,  in  the  midst  of  seeming  confusion,  by  infi- 
nite wisdom  and  goodness,  with  a  view  to  the  growth,  prosper- 
ity, and  ultimate  universal  prevalence  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
This  view  of  the  nature  and  scope  of  God's  providential  gov- 
ernment, as  it  is  clearly  in  harmony  with  the  teachings  of  Holy 
Scripture,  so  does  it  invest  the  history  of  our  race  with  a 
dignity  and  a  sacredness,  which  no  other  view  of  it  could 
impart. 

While  this  remark  is  true  in  reference  to  all  history,  it  has 
a  special  pertinency  to  the  history  of  the  church.  The  impor- 
tance which  the  Holy  Ghost  attaches  to  a  knowledge  of  God's 
providential  government  of  the  world,  and  especially  of  his 
providential  dealings  with  his  own  people,  is  seen  in  the  fact, 
that  more  than  half  the  Bible,  in  both  its  great  divisions,  is 
historical  in  its  character.  We  have  therein  a  summary  history 
of  the  church,  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  the  introduc- 
tion and  establishment  of  Christianity  ;  for  the  most  part,  in 
mere  outline,  but  expanding  into  a  fuller  detail  of  events  at 
certain  more  important  points  —  as  at  the  introduction  of  the 
Abrahamic,  Mosaic  and  Christian  dispensations.  Luke,  the 
most  learned  of  the  evangelists,  lias  declared  his  sense  of  the 
value  of  such  inquiries  in  the  introduction  to  his  Gospel ;  a 
passage  which,  on  that  account,  I  have  selected  as  an  appropri- 
ate motto  for  a  brief  historical  review  of  God's  providential 
and  gracious  dealings  with  this  church.     He  informs  us  that 


ho  had  carefully  traced  everything  in  the  gospel  history  from 
the  very  first,  that  he  might  write  an  exact  and  methodical  ac- 
count of  the  same.  Nothing  can  be  more  venerahle,  nothing 
more  instructive,  nothing  more  interesting,  than  the  record  of 
the  battles  and  the  victories,  the  trials  and  the  triumphs  of  the 
Christian  church.  The  idea  prevails  that  church  history  be- 
longs to  the  theologian,  and  can  bave  bul  little  importance  or 
interest  for  common  Christians.  I  Jut  so  far  is  this  from  hein^ 
the  case,  that  few  departments  of  study  are,  to  a  just  and  en- 
lightened taste,  more  entertaining  or  more  profitable.  Cer- 
tainly no  other  more  abounds  with  affecting  and  thrilling 
incidents.  The  most  fertile  ami  brilliant  imagination  has  never 
invested  romance  itself  with  an  interest  more  potent,  a  charm 
more  fascinating,  than  that  which  belongs  to  various  portions 
of  the  history  <>f  the  church. 

A-  this  is  true  of  the  history  of  the  church  of  Christ  in 
general,  so  it  is  no  less  true  of  the  history  of  individual  church- 
es. A>  the  church  universal  lias  a  memory,  whereby  -he  holds 
in  everlasting  remembrance  the  just,  the  wise  and  the  good — 
the  noble  spirits  devoted  to  truth,  to  virtue  ami  to  God,  who 
have  contributed  to  the  progress  of  religion  and  the  happiness 
of  man — a  Long  and  illustrious  Line  of  benefactors,  stretching 
from  righteous  A.bel  through  every  succeeding  age  of  her  his- 
tory, whose  tame  has  -plead  over  every  region  of  the  globe; 
so  each  particular  church  has  its  own  cherished  memories  of 
wise,  holy  and  faithful  men,  who  have  adorned  its  annals  and 
contributed  to  it-  welfare,  and  whose  fame,  though  not  world- 
wide, i>  deservedly  pure  and  lasting  in  the  place  where  their 
lives  were  passed,  and  their  virtues  shone.  How  many  such 
names,  though  unknown  to  the  world  at  Large,  are  familiar  as 
household  words  to  the  people  of  this  congregation  !  The 
names  of  Dod,  (father  and  son,)  Lindley,  Cook.  Coe,  Axtell, 
Moore,  M'Farland,  Ilanna,  Sanders,  Hathaway,  Reed,  Murray, 
and  others  too  numerous  to  recite,  here  rise  unhidden  to  many 
a  mind  in  this  assembly.  These  names  are  justly  your  pride 
and  your  boast.  You  hold  them  as  among  your  most  precious 
treasures.  Associated  with  all  that  is  good,  and  pure,  and  ele- 
vated, and  prosperous,  and  happy  in  your  religious  history, 


0 

how  strong  the  incentives  which  they  hold  out  to  virtue  and  to 
godliness  ! 

Thus  am  I  conducted  to  the  main  purpose  of  the  present 
discourse.  In  compliance  with  a  formal  request  of  the  session 
of  this  church,  and  with  sundry  individual  requests  from  private 
sources,  received  at  different  times,  I  propose,  on  this  last  day 
of  my  ministry  among  you,  briefly  to  review  and  commem- 
orate the  history  of  God's  goodness,  in  providence  and  grace, 
to  this  people. 

Let  me  begin  with  an  apology  for  the  very  imperfect  man- 
ner in  which,  I  am  but  too  sensible,  this  service  must  and  will 
l^e  performed.  At  the  outside,  it  is  not  more  than  four  or  five 
weeks  since  I  thought  of  undertaking  it.  During  the  greater 
part  of  that  time,  the  ordinary  duties  of  my  professorship  in 
college  have  demanded  their  full  share  of  my  attention,  and 
these  have  been  not  a  little  increased  by  the  simultaneous 
occurrence  of  the  semi-annual  examination  of  all  the  college 
classes.  Besides  this,  I  have  had,  in  the  mean  time,  the  extra 
services  of  a  communion  occasion,  without  the  usual  assistance 
from  abroad,  and  have,  in  addition,  within  the  same  period, 
prepared  a  special  sermon,  embodying  some  farewell  counsels 
and  admonitions  to  the  beloved  people  of  my  charge.  You 
will  readily  perceive  from  this  statement,  that  my  time  must 
have  been  extremely  limited  for  making  and  reducing  to  a 
digested  and  methodical  form,  researches  into  the  history  of  a 
congregation,  whose  origin  dates  nearly  one  hundred  years  ago. 
The  sources  from  which  I  have  drawn  the  information  embod- 
ied in  this  brief  review  are  the  following  : 

1.  The  Records  of  the  Church.  These  are,  for  the  most 
part,  exceedingly  brief,  even  for  the  times  which  they  cover ; 
and  their  value,  as  a  source  of  history,  is  materially  diminished 
by  the  occurrence  of  sundry,  and,  in  some  instances,  very  wide 
chasms.  For  long  periods,  no  records  at  all  seem  to  have  been 
kept ;  and  this,  we  are  informed  on  good  authority,  was  quite 
characteristic  of  the  churches  in  Western  Pennsylvania  during 
their  early  history. 

2.  Old  Redstone,  by  Jos.  Smith,  D.  D.  This  is  a  rich  col- 
lection of  facts  and  incidents  in  the  history  of  western  Pres- 
byterian ism  and  its  early  ministers. 


3.  Dr.  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  a  noble 
treasury  of  American  religious  biography  and  ecclesiastical 
history,  and  a  splendid  monument  at  once  to  the  genius  and 
piety  of  the  illustrious  dead,  and  the  industry,  taste  and  learn- 
ing of  its  gifted  and  accomplished  author. 

4.  The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Blisha  M  Curdy,  by  Dr.  Elliott,  a 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  departed  patriarch,  and  a  mine  of  val- 
uable information  touching  the  toils,  the  trials  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  early  pioneers  of  our  western  Zion. 

5.  An  interesting  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  Thaddeus  Dod,  by 
his  son,  the  late  Rev.  Cephas  Dod,  published  in  the  Presby- 
terian Magazine  for  August  and  September  of  1854. 

6.  Some  written  Memoranda,  furnished  at  my  request  by 
Luther  Day,  Esq.,  from  which  I  have  derived  important  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  temperance  reform  and  two  inter- 
esting revivals  of  religion, 

7.  The  Records  of  the  Presbytery  of  Washington,  which 
afford  no  little  light  on  the  transactions  connected  with  the 
Cumberland  defection. 

8.  A  Commemorative  Sketch  of  the  Rev.  Cephas  Dod,  by 
the  Rev.  YV.  1'.  Ilarvison,  published  in  the  Presbyterian  Banner 
and  Advocate. 

9.  A  Letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Elliott  to  the  speaker,  relating 
to  the  Cumberland  troubles. 

10.  And  last,  but  by  no  means  least  in  importance  and 
value,  the  recollections  of  many  of  the  older  members  of  the 
congregation,  male  and  female,  elicited  by  special  inquiries  in 
personal  conversation. 

This  is  a  tolerably  copious  list  of  sources,  but  the  limited  time 
I  have  had  for  examining  and  digesting  their  contents,  taken 
in  connection  with  the  fact  that  they  do  not,  for  the  most  part, 
descend  to  much  detail  in  reference  to  the  history  of  particu- 
lar churches,  makes  it  almost  certain  that  I  shall  have  fallen 
into  some  errors;  and  whenever  any  of  my  statements  hap- 
pen to  cross  the  knowledge  of  any  of  my  auditors,  I  will 
esteem  it  an  especial  kindness,  if  he  or  they  will  afford  the 
needed  correction  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

The  planting  of  a  church  is  always  an  interesting  and  im- 


8 

portant  event.  What  untold  influences,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
lie  wrapped  up  in  that  simple  transaction  !  If  it  be  a  church 
founded  on  gospel  principles,  and  designed  to  he  a  pillar  and 
ground  of  the  truth,  what  a  number  and  variety  of  blessings 
will  it  bring  to  the  community  in  which  it  is  found !  If  it  be 
a  church  founded  on  false  principles,  and  designed  to  teach 
fundamental  errors,  what  a  train  of  pestilent  and  destructive 
influences  will  it  send  forth  !  The  churches  in  any  community 
will  give  tone  and  character  to  that  community ;  they  will 
stamp  their  impress  upon  its  opinions,  its  morals,  its  institu- 
tions, its  customs,  in  a  word,  upon  the  whole  current  of  its 
thought,  feeling,  speech  and  action. 

This  church,  in  common  with  its  group  of  sister  churches 
in  this  region,  had  its  origin  at  a  period  of  no  common  inter- 
est, and  under  circumstances  of  no  ordinary  importance.  It 
will  be  proper  to  glance  at  the  general  features  of  the  times 
and  the  scenes,  in  the  midst  of  which  it  originated. 

A  little  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  "Western  Pennsyl- 
vania was  an  unbroken  wilderness,  the  haunt  of  savages,  wild 
beasts  and  poisonous  reptiles.  About  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  and  for  a  succession  of  years  thereafter,  a  stream  of 
emigrants  from  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Maryland, 
New  Jersey,  Scotland,  and  the  north  of  Ireland,  crossing  the 
rugged  steeps  and  frightful  gorges  of  the  Alleghenies,  and 
braving  the  perils  and  privations  of  a  frontier  life,  poured  in 
and  made  settlements  throughout  all  this  region,  then  a  track- 
less and  howling  waste,  but  now  smiling  beneath  the  hand  of 
cultivation,  and  abounding  in  all  the  comforts,  luxuries  and 
elegancies  of  life.  Rarely,  if  ever,  in  the  whole  history  of 
colonization,  has  a  new  country  been  settled  by  a  more  intel- 
ligent, virtuous  and  resolute  class  of  men.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  them  were  the  children  of  the  church,  baptized  and 
nurtured  in  her  bosom.  With  few  exceptions,  they  belonged 
to  the  Presbyterian  family.  Many  were  in  the  communion  of 
the  church,  and  some  had  held  positions  of  honor  and  influ- 
ence in  the  congregations  from  which  they  came.  In  their 
new  circumstances  they  were  in  a  condition  of  extreme  peril. 
Grievous  wolves  might  enter  and  spoil  the  flock.     Incompe- 


9 

tent  and  faithless  teachers  might  lead  them  astray.  But  a 
covenant-keeping  God  had  better  things  in  store  for  them. 
The  Genera]  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  for  many  years 
before  the  first  settlement  of  a  minister  in  the  West,  like  a 
kind  and  faithful  mother,  had  bestowed  unremitting  attention 
upon  the  religious  interests  of  her  children  in  this  distant  por- 
tion of  her  territories.  Let  the  names  of  M'Dowell,  Allison, 
Beatty,  Brainerd,*  Duffield,  Cooper,  Anderson,  BTiles,  Finley, 
Craighead,  King,  Forster,  Smith.  Carmichael,  and  Towers,  all 
appointed  by  tic  supreme  judicatory  to  missionary  service 
in  the  West,  and  some  of  them  more  than  once,  previous  to 
the  permanent  removal  of  the  first  ordained  minister  to  that 
region,  attest  her  maternal  care  for  her  children  in  the  wilder- 
uess.  The  Labors  of  these  brethren  were  spread  over  a  period  of 
nearly  twenty  years,  viz.  from  1758  to  17"ii.  They  preached, 
administered  the  sacraments,  and  probably  organized  a  num- 
ber of  churches,  though  of  this  there  is  no  certain  record. 

lint  (bid  had  other  purposes  of  grace,  other  blessings  in 
store,  f<>r  the  infant  Zion  in  the  West.  At  the  vcrv  time  when 
the  synod  was  sending  out  her  missionaries,  <o>d  had  in  train- 
ing for  this  field  a  company  of  men  of  extraordinary  powers 
and  aptitudes  for  the  work  for  which  they  were  designed  :  men 
of  clear  heads,  brave  heart- and  strong  arms;  men  baptized 
into  the  spirit  of  the  WTritfields,  the  Blairs,  and  tic  Tennents 
of  the  last  century;  men  of  ripe  experience  and  mature  wis- 
dom ;  men  who  united  zeal  to  orthodoxy,  who  possessed  the  hest 
qualities  of  both  the  old  parties  in  the  church,  the  revival 
spirit  of  the  one  and  the  strict  discipline  of  the  other,  and 
who  became  burning  and  shining  Lights  amid  the  darkness  of 

this  western  wilderness.  A  few  years  after  the  date  of  the 
last  missionary  appointments  by  the  Synod.  (1776),  M  Millan, 
Dod,  Power.  Smith.  Clarke.  Diinlap  and  Finley.  five  of  whom 
Dr.  Sprague  has  judged  worthy  of  a  place  in  his  Annals 
of  the  American  Pulpit,  are  found  permanently  stationed  in 
this  wide  field,  and  the  synod  is  happily  relieved  of  any 
further  care  of  them,  except  her  ordinary  care  over  all  the 
churches. 

*  Brother  to  David  Brainerd,  missionary  to  the  Indians. 
9 


10 

The  ministry  of  these  faithful  servants  of  the  Lord  was  pre- 
eminently fruitful  in  conversions.  They  were  men  of  a  thor- 
oughly evangelical  spirit.  They  had  been  trained  under  the 
] lower  of  an  earnest  and  living  ministry;  had  themselves  wit- 
nessed manv  glorious  revivals  of  religion  ;  and  had  come  from 
a  region  blessed  with  frequent  and  signal  outpourings  of  the 
Spirit.  In  their  new  field  of  labor,  some  of  them,  particularly 
Smith,  Dod  and  M'Millan,  lived  in  the  midst  of  almost  con- 
stant revivals  for  a  period  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  years.  Xor 
were  ever  ministers  blessed  with  more  efficient  helpers.  The 
laity  of  that  age  were  a  noble  class;  and  this  remark  is  quite 
as  applicable  to  the  women  as  to  the  men.  There  was  a  race 
of  wrestling  Jacobs  and  praying  Hannahs  that  had  power  with 
God.  Luther's  three  masters — prayer,  meditation  and  trial — 
wrought  mightily  here.  They,  with  other  influences,  produced 
a  depth  of  piety,  a  richness  of  Christian  experience,  a  maturity 
of  Christian  graces,  and  an  intensity  of  Christian  character, 
rarely,  perhaps,  equaled  in  our  day. 

The  early  ministers  and  sessions  of  this  region  were  strict 
disciplinarians.  They  attached  the  highest  importance  to  cat- 
echetical instruction.  The  Shorter  Catechism  was  a  text-book 
in  all  the  schools.  Parents  required  their  households  to  recite 
it  every  Sabbath  evening ;  none  wrere  excused,  whether  old  or 
young.  At  each  pastoral  visit  the  children  looked,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  for  an  examination  on  the  Catechism.  A  few  stand- 
ard books,  as  Boston's  Four-fold  State,  Fisher's  Catechism, 
and  the  like,  were  found  in  almost  every  house  ;  and  they  were 
read  and  re-read,  till  their  contents  were  thoroughly  mastered, 
and  their  doctrine  and  spirit  inwrought  into  the  very  texture 
of  the  soul.  The  greatest  care  was  exercised  in  the  admission 
of  persons  to  the  communion  of  the  church.  The  examination 
on  personal  piety  was  close  and  searching.  And  the  same  was 
true  in  regard  to  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

In  everything,  our  fathers  were  trained  to  endure  hardness 
as  good  soldiers.  Their  first  temples  were  the  shady  grove, 
and  their  first  pulpits  a  rude  tent,  made  of  rough  slabs ;  while 
the  audience  sat  either  upon  logs  or  the  green  turf.  Kot  even 
log  churches  were  erected  till  about  the  year  1700.     "  Even  in 


11 

winter  the  meetings  were  held  in  the  open  air."  Xot  one  in 
ten  had  the  luxury  of  a  great-coat.  The  most  were  obliged  to 
wear  blankets  or  coverlets  instead. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  their  trials  arose  from  the  hostility 

and  treachery  of  the  savages.  Their  perils,  alarms  and  suffer- 
ings from  this  source,  covered  a  period  of  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  with  but  few  and  brief  intervals  of  repose  and 
security.  Pillage,  conflagration  and  murder,  were  calamities 
of  almost  daily  occurrence.  Each  hour  was  full  of  danger. 
Men  worked  in  the  field,  or  attended  upon  public  worship, 
with  weapons  of  war  ever  by  their  side.  In  many  of  the  set- 
tlements, forts  were  erected,  consisting  of  log  cabins,  block- 
houses and  stockades.  Into  these,  not  seldom  were  ministers 
and  people  compelled  to  flee  for  safety:  and  here  they  often 
held  protracted  meetings,  and  enjoyed  precious  seasons  of  an 
outpoured  Spirit.  Revivals,  commenced  in  this  way.  when  they 
were  in  duress,  frequently  continued  for  weeks  and  mouths 
after  their  release. 

I  am  afraid  that  some  of  my  hearers  will  begin  to  think  that 
I  have  forgotten  my  proper  theme,  and  am  about  to  sketch  the 
general  history  of  Presbyterianism  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
rather  than  the  particular  history  of  the  Upper  Ten-mile  con- 
gregation. Not  so,  however,  by  any  means.  These  general 
views,  as  they  belong,  in  some  measure  at  least,  to  all  the  con- 
gregations of  this  section  of  country,  could  not  be  wholly 
omitted;  and  I  have  thought  that  it  would  be  a  true  economy 
of  time,  as  well  as  more  in  accordance  with  a  just  method,  to 
group  them  together  in  one  view.  The  special  history  will 
now  flow  more  smoothly,  and  with  fewer  interruptions. 

Eighty-six  years  ago,  i.  e.  in  1773,  a  company  of  emigrants, 
numbering  some  twenty  families  or  more,  left  the  comforts  and 
refinements  of  a  Christian  home  in  Morris  county,  Xew  Jer- 
sey, and  directed  their  course  toward  these  western  wilds. 
The  very  same  year,  a  pale,  slender  youth,  with  jet  black  hair, 
dark,  piercing  eyes,  and  a  countenance  highly  expressive  of 
mental  activity  and  power,  might  have  been  seen  bending  his 
steps  to  Xassau  Hall,  that  early  nursery  of  Presbyterianism  in 
the  Xew  World.     Providence  designed  this  vounff  man  to  be 


12 

the  first  religious  teacher  of  the  emigrants  in  their  new  home ; 
and  his  name  was  Thaddeus  Dod.  The  hardy  pioneers  having, 
by  slow  and  toilsome  stages,  scaled  the  precipitous  heights  of 
the  Allegheny  mountains,  and  traversed  the  mighty  region 
lying  between  the  Atlantic  coast  and  their  new  abode,  selected 
for  their  western  home  the  hilly  country  on  the  waters  of  Ten- 
mile,  in  what  are  now  portions  of  Washington  and  Greene 
counties ;  chiefly,  however,  the  former.  The  leading  spirits 
of  this  enterprise  seem  to  have  been  Demas  Lindley  and  Jacob 
Cook ;  the  former  of  whom  had  been  a  ruling  elder,  and  the 
latter  an  influential  member,  in  one  of  the  Presbyterian 
churches  of  Morris  county.  Mr.  Lindley  was  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  one  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  who  came  out  in  the  May- 
flower, in  1020.  Three  settlements  were  formed  by  the  Jersey 
emigrants.  Four  families  fixed  themselves  on  the  present  site 
of  Jefferson,  in  Greene  county.  The  remainder  divided,  and 
formed  two  other  settlements,  six  miles  apart.  One  of  these 
was  called  Lindley's  settlement,  and  was  near  the  present  vil- 
lage of  Prosperity;  the  other  received  the  name  of  Cook's 
settlement,  and  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  village  of 
Amity.  The  country  was  at  that  time  a  waste  and  howling 
wilderness,  over  which  the  Indian,  the  buffalo  and  the  panther 
roamed  at  will.  Of  all  the  settlements  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ten-mile  was  the  one  most  exposed  to  the  hostile  incur- 
sions of  the  savage  inhabitants.  One  of  the  strongest  forts  in 
all  the  West  was  built  at  Lindley's  settlement  in  1774. 

In  the  summer  of  1777,  Mr.  Thaddeus  Dod,  of  Morris  county, 
X.  J.,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  probably  by 
invitation,  (for  he  must  have  been  personally  known  to  several 
of  them,)  paid  the  Ten-mile  people  a  visit.  They  were  extreme- 
ly anxious  that  he  should  settle  among  them.  But  the  ques- 
tion of  settlement  was  one  of  difficulty.  How  should  he  be  suit- 
ported?  They  were  few  in-  number;  they  were  poor;  and  it 
was  a  hard  struggle  for  them  to  provide  for  their  own  house- 
holds. But  they  were  earnest  men,  accustomed  to  sacrifices, 
and  not  readily  appalled  or  disheartened  by  difficulties.  Their 
feeling  was,  "we  can  and  will  support  one  family  more,  if  they 
will  consent  to  live  as  we  do."     Silver  and  gold  they  had  none, 


13 

but  such  as  they  had  they  offered  freely.  Mr.  Lindley,  who 
had  a  mill,  promised  to  supply  the  family  with  flour;  Mr. 
Cook,  with  meat;  and  others,  both  men  and  women,  made 
such  offerings  as  their  circumstances  would  permit.  Mr.  Dod 
accepted  their  call.  He  was  a  man  of  kindred  spirit.  lie  was 
willing  to  make  sacrifices,  and  to  endure  hardship  and  self- 
denial.  He  went  back,  was  ordained  by  his  Presbytery,  and 
returned  with  his  family  in  the  tall  of  the  same  year.  On  ar- 
riving at  Patterson's  Creek.  Hampshire  county,  Ya.,  he  learned 
that  the  whole  western  country  was  in  confusion  and  dismay 
from  a  terrible  irruption  of  the  Indians.  Judging  it  not  pru- 
denl  to  bring  his  family  with  him  just  then,  he  crossed  the 
mountain  and  came  to  Ten-mile  alone.  Here  he  preached  and 
baptized  the  children.  This  was  the  first  administration  of  the 
ordinance  in  the  settlement,  and  many  of  the  children  were 
of  considerable  size.  The  occasion  was  solemn  and  affecting. 
To  one  little  boy  who  then  and  there  received  the  sacrament 
of  baptism,  it  was  made  the  vehicle  of  impressions  which  are 
believed  to  have  had  n  saving  issue.  This  child  afterward  be- 
came a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  was  one  of  Mr.  Dod' s  suc- 
cessors in  tin1  pastorale  of  this  church. 

Mr.  Dod  returned  to  his  family  in  Virginia,  and,  the  Indian 
troubles  continuing,  it  is  not  known  that  he  was  again  in 
Ten-mile,  till  lie  brought  his  family  there  for  permanent  resi- 
dence in  the  autumn  of  1779.  A  church  was  organized  on  the 
loth  of  August,  1781,  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Cook,  consisting 
of  twenty -five  members.  Dennis  Lindley,  Jacob  Cook,  Joseph 
Coe  and  Daniel  Axtell  were  chosen,  and  the  three  last  named 
ordained,  to  the  office  of  ruling  elder.  Mr.  Dod  was  the  second 
minister  who  settled  west  of  the  Monongahela  river,  being  one 
year  later  than  Mr.  M'Millan.  His  position  was  the  advanced 
post,  "the  forlorn  hope"  of  our  western  Zion.  Long  after 
the  members  of  the  other  congregations  could  u-o  and  come  in 
safety,  those  of  Ten-mile  were  kept  in  constant  terror  by  the 
inroads  of  the  savages.  To  them  "  the  Canaanite  was  still  in 
the  land."  Sometimes  even  the  solemn  service  of  the  Sabbath 
was  broken  up  or  disturbed  by  these  wily  and  ever  active  foes. 
Thrilling  incidents  of  this  nature  are  on  record,  and  vou  would 


14 

no  doubt  be  deeply  interested  in  hearing  them,  if  time  would 
permit  our  indulgence  in  such  relations. 

It  was  owing  to  the  danger  of  interruption  from  this  source, 
that  the  first  sacramental  communion  did  not  take  place  till  the 
third  Sabbath  of  May,  1783.  The  ordinance  was  administered 
in  Daniel  Axtell's  barn,  three  miles  north  of  Fort  Lindley. 
Dr.  M'Millan  assisted.  It  was  an  impressive  and  melting  oc- 
casion. While  the  people  had  been  shut  up  in  the  fort,  and 
afterward,  God  had  graciously  poured  out  his  Spirit.  For 
months  a  glorious  revival  of  religion  had  been  in  progress. 
And  now,  this  first  administration  of  the  Holy  Supper  was 
made  memorable  by  the  admission  to  communion  of  forty-five 
persons,  on  profession  of  their  faith,  besides  three  others  on 
certificate.  Truly,  this  church  may  be  said  to  have  been  born 
in  a  revival.  jNTo  wonder  that  it  should  always  have  been  a 
warm  friend  of  these  Pentecostal  seasons.  Xo  wonder  that  it 
should,  in  after  years,  have  so  often  been  visited  with  the  re- 
viving influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  having,  in  the  course  of 
its  history,  experienced  some  eighteen  or  twenty  special  re- 
ligious awakenings.  Under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Dod,  this 
congregation,  like  those  of  Buffalo  and  Cross  Creek  under  that 
of  Mr.  Smith,  and  of  Chartiers  and  Pigeon  Creek  under  that 
of  Dr.  M'Millan,  was  in  an  almost  constant  state  of  religious 
revival.  But  three  periods  of  special  interest  are  mentioned; 
viz.  the  one  already  noticed,  another  in  1787,  and  the  third,  that 
in  the  midst  of  which  the  venerable  man  of  God  was  called  to 
his  rest;  as  the  fruit  of  which,  more  than  fifty  were  gathered 
into  the  church  after  his  departure.  There  might  have  been 
and  probably  were  others,  of  which  no  record  has  been  made. 

Mr.  Dod  was  confessedly  the  most  learned  among  his  minis- 
terial compeers  in  the  West.  He  possessed  an  extraordinary 
mathematical  genius,  which  had  been  cultivated  to  a  high  de- 
gree ;  he  was  an  excellent  classical  scholar ;  and,  had  time 
permitted  and  inclination  prompted,  he  might  have  excelled 
in  the  composition  of  poetry.  It  deserves  to  be  recorded,  to 
the  honor  of  the  Ten-mile  people  and  their  pastor,  that  the 
first  classical  school  west  of  the  Alleghenies  was  established 
within   their  bounds,  in   the   spring  of  1782;  and   that   six   of 


15 

its  earliest  pupils  entered  the  Gospel  ministry,  viz.  .lames 
Hughes,  John  Briee,  Robert  Marshall,  Jacob  Lindley,  John 
Hanna  and  David  Smith;  four  of  whom  became  distinguished 
men.     It   is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  Mr.  Dod  was  the 

teacher  of  this  school,  as  he  was,  also,  subsequently,  the  first 
Principal  of  the  Washington  Academy. 

Mr.  Dod  was  a  great  lover  of  music.  He  had  a  delicate  ear, 
and  had  thoroughly  mastered  the  science.  He  could  not  endure 
hail  Binging  in  church.  He  therefore  delivered  sermons  and 
addresses  on  the  subject,  which  are  still  extant:  and  in  this 
way  he  awakened  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  the  people. 
He  trained  them,  also,  in  the  practice  of  the  art.  As  a  conse- 
quence, that  part  of  religious  worship  became  greatly  im- 
proved. '•  Fifty  years  ago,"  says  the  author  of  Old  Redstone, 
"better  singing  could  be  heard  at  Upper  and  Lower  Ten-mile, 
than  anywhere  else  in  Washington  county."  This  congrega- 
tion long  retained  its  preeminence  in  this  respect.  The  sing- 
ing, though  it  has  declined  from  its  palmy  state,  is  still  respect- 
able. Even  since  I  have  been  among  you,  at  a  meeting  of 
Washington  Presbytery,  held  in  this  place,  several  of  the  min- 
isters aoticed  and  commended  the  music;  particularly  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Cyrus  Dickson,  then  one  of  our  number,  but  now  Of 
the  city  of  Baltimore.  It  should  be  observed,  in  this  connec- 
tion, that  a  New  Testament  Psalmody  was  always  in  use  in  this 
congregation,  Watts  taking  the  place  of  Rouse  from  the  very 
first :  and,  further,  that  the  practice  of  singing  without  reading 
out  the  line  was  introduced  here  many  years  in  advance  of 
any  other  of  the  western  churches,  viz.  in  1792. 

I  have  spoken  of  Mr.  Dod  as  a  scholar,  and  in  other  rela- 
tions; "but  Christian,  deeply  devout  and  spiritual,  was  his 
highest  style."  He  was  a  warm,  zealous,  evangelical  preacher. 
His  sermons  were  remarkably  discriminating  and  searching. 
He  was,  in  the  best  sense,  a  revival  man  :  and  his  people  were 
like-minded  with  him,  for  they  tk  had  come  from  the  very  midst 
of  the  spirit  and  power  of  those  revivals  which  followed  the 
labors  of  Whitfield  and  the  Tennentsin  their  native  state." 

Mr.  Dod  was  a  staunch  advocate  of  the  most  thorough 
ministerial   training.     In  his  native  county,  in   New  Jersey, 


16 

there  was  a  small  independent  body  of  Presbyterians,  who 
were  rather  lax  in  the  literary  and  theological  education  of 
their  ministers.  He  was  personally  acquainted  with  several 
members  of  this  body,  and  was  once  addressed  by  Mr.  Brad- 
ford respecting  one  or  more  of  their  number  coming  out  to 
labor  in  this  field.  "Mr.  Dod,  no  doubt  deprecating  the  intro- 
duction of  that  sort  of  Presbyterianism  into  this  region,  wrote 
to  his  friend  a  statement  of  the  character  of  the  western  field, 
saying  that  it  was  new  and  very  rough  ground,  and  required 
strong  oxen  to  break  it  up  ;  and  that  he  doubted  whether  two- 
year-olds  would  suit  for  the  work." — (Old  Redstone.)  On  this 
representation,  they  seem  to  have  dropped  the  idea  of  sending 
out  missionaries  here. 

Mr.  Dod  died  of  pulmonary  consumption,  on  the  20th  of 
May,  1793,  after  a  ministry  of  nearly  sixteen  years,  dating 
from  the  acceptance  of  his  call.  Dr.  M'Millan  preached  a 
funeral  discourse  the  next  day,  from  Eev.  14 :  13.  There  was 
sorrow  throughout  all  this  western  Zion ;  but  chiefly  among 
the  people  of  his  own  charge.  A  prince  and  a  great  man  had 
fallen  in  Israel. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  in  which  Mr.  Dod  died, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  Moore  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor 
of  this  church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ohio,  then  newly  formed 
by  a  division  of  the  old  Redstone  Presbytery.  Mr.  Moore  was 
a  New  England  man,  and  was  received  from  the  Bristol  As- 
sociation of  Massachusetts.  He  was  a  man  of  vigorous  intel- 
lect, of  high  culture,  of  ardent  temperament,  of  undoubted 
piety,  of  active  zeal,  and  altogether  of  great  excellence  and 
worth.  His  style  of  composition  was  polished  and  flowing, 
but  apt  to  be  somewhat  refined  and  abstract,  after  the  ISTew 
England  model.  His  voice  was  clear  and  sonorous,  and  his 
manner  of  delivery  warm  and  animated.  He  dwelt  much,  in 
his  preaching,  upon  the  terrors  of  the  law.  He  was  bold  and 
uncompromising  in  his  denunciations  against  sin  in  all  its 
forms  ;  but  especially  against  the  sins  of  formalism  and  hypoc- 
risy in  the  church.  His  labors  resulted  in  numerous  con- 
versions, first  in  this  congregation,  and  afterward  at  Salem, 
within  the  bounds  of  Blairsville  Presbytery.     In  theology,  he 


17 

was  a  Hopkinsian,  and  his  Calvinism  was  of  rather  an  ultra 
type.  Indeed,  there  is  a  tradition  still  current  in  this  com- 
munity, that  he  preached  the  doctrine  of  infant  damnation. 
But  this  is,  undoubtedly,  either  a  mistake  or  a  calumny — 
probably  the  former;  a  mere  inference,  falsely  drawn  from  his 
strong  Calvinistic  views.  I  have  the  best  authority  lor  saying 
that  Mr.  Moore  neither  preached  nor  held  the  doctrine  in 
question,  \i/..  his  explicit  denial  of  the  fact,  as  reported  from 
liis  own  lips  by  Mr.  Daniel  Davis,  who  was  by  no  means  an 
admirer  of  the  gentleman.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
thai  Mr.  Moore  was  a  terrible  scourge  of  Anninianism. 

During  the  whole  period  of  Mr.  hod's  ministry,  his  charge 
had  been  known  simply  as  the  Congregation  of  Ten-mile,  lie 
had.  however,  always  had  two  principal  preaching  stations, 
one  at  Lindley's  settlement,  known  as  Upper  Ten-mile,  and 
the  other  at  Cook'-  settlement,  known  as  Lower  Ten-mile. 
From  this  time  the  style  was  changed,  and  henceforth  the 
charge  was  denominated,  The  United  Congregations  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Ten-mile:  although  for  many  years  there  con- 
tinued to  he  lmt  one  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  the  same 
session  ruled  over  both  congregation.-.  A  meeting-house  of 
hewn  logs  was  erected  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Lower  Ten- 
mile,  in  l"So.  Not  until  some  years  after  Mr.  Moore's  settle- 
ment, was  a  similar  house  built  at  Upper  Ten-mile.     The  site, 

the  same  on  whieh  the  present  edifice  stands,  was  given  by 
Mr.  Demas  Lindley.  Fortunately,  as  we  shall  see,  it  was 
given    expressly  for   the  OCCUpancy  and    use    of  a    I  Yeshyterian 

church,  and  for  no  other  purpose  whatsoever. 

Mr.  Moore's  ministry  among  this  people  lasted  just  ten  years. 
It  was  abundantly  fruitful.  Though  nearly  three  years'  records 
are  wanting,  the  remaining  portion  exhibits  the  names  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fiftypersons  received  on  examination.  It  is, 
therefore,  probable  that  the  whole  number  of  admissions  could 
not  have  fallen  much,  if  any,  below  two  hundred,  an  average, 
say,  of  twenty  per  year;  a  clear  proof  that  the  strongest  kind 
of  Calvinistic  preaching  has  no  tendency  to  check,  but  rather 
to  multiply  conversions.  The  years  1799,  1802  and  1803  seem 
to  have  been  signalized  by  the  most  abundant  blessing.     The 

3 


18 

two  latter  years  are  comprehended  within  the  period  of.  that 
remarkable  awakening  which  prevailed  throughout  all  this 
region,  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  known  as 
the  falling  revival.,  and  characterized  by  very  singular  bodily 
affections.  The  Ten-mile  congregations  had  their  full  share 
of  those  manifestations,  and  of  the  precious  blessing  which, 
however  they  may  be  viewed,  was  undoubtedly  connected  with 
them.  As  in  Buffalo,  Cross  Creek,  Chartiers  and  other  places, 
so  at  Ten-mile,  the  meetings  were  often  continued  through  the 
whole  night,  or  till  a  very  late  hour ;  and  yet  neither  weari- 
ness nor  drowsiness  seemed  to  attend  them.  Mr.  Moore  is 
said  to  have  led  in  prayer  as  many  as  twelve  times  in  a  single 
night. 

The  Rev.  Cephas  Dod,  the  honored  son  of  an  honored  father, 
was  Mr.  Moore's  successor  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Ten-mile 
congregations.  The  same  meeting  of  Presbytery  dismissed 
Mr.  Moore,  and  ordained  and  installed  Mr.  Dod.  These  events 
took  place  on  the  14th  of  December,  1803 ;  and,  though  it 
was  mid-winter,  all  the  services  connected  with  them  were 
held  in  Joseph  Riggs'  sugar  camp,  with  the  open  canopy  of 
heaven  for  a  temple,  the  snow  for  a  carpet,  and  the  wind 
whistling  through  the  leafless  branches  of  the  trees  as  an 
accompaniment  to  the  solemn  music,  as  it  pealed  forth  from  a 
choir  consisting  of  hundreds  of  voices. 

The  younger  Dod  possessed  a  clear  and  strong  mind,  en- 
riched by  manly  culture  and  varied  learning ;  remarkable 
gentleness  and  amiability  of  temper ;  great  practical  wisdom  ; 
a  tranquil  and  steady  piety;  high  devotion  and  loyalty  as  a 
friend ;  in  short,  a  combination  of  qualities,  a  character,  com- 
plete, harmonious  and  symmetrical  in  an  unusual  degree.  He 
was  a  good  scholar,  a  sound  divine,  a  prudent  counselor,  and 
an  affectionate,  tender  and  faithful  preacher.  He  greatly  ex- 
celled in  addresses  on  sacramental  and  funeral  occasions.  If 
I  might  venture  a  critical  remark  upon  his  ministry,  it  would 
be  to  the  effect,  that  it  was  lacking  in  doctrine,  in  a  full  and 
fearless  exhibition  of  that  great  system  of  Bible  truth  em- 
bodied in  the  standards  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  A  natural 
explanation  of  this  defect,  apart  from  any  constitutional  pecu- 


19 

liarity,  may  be  found  in  an  apprehended  excess  of  such  preach- 
ing in  his  immediate  predecessor,  and  a  resulting  proclivity  in 
him  to  the  other  extreme. 

I  regret  my  inability  to  present  any  history  of  the  church, 
in  its  spiritual  interests,  during  the  incumbency  of  Mr.  Dod. 
The  records,  as  far  as  the  Upper  Congregation  is  concerned, 
are  a  total  blank.  There  may  be  such  records  in  the  Lower 
congregation,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  them. 

Some  dissatisfaction  having  arisen,  (from  what  cause  or  causes 
does  not  clearly  appear,)  Mr.  Dod  was  dismissed  from  1  lis  dou- 
ble charge,  and  thenceforward  the  two  congregations  became 
two  distinct  bodies,  with  separate  sessions,  and  each  independ- 
ent of  the  other.  Mr.  llai'vison.  in  his  Commemorative 
Notice,  states  the  probable  time  of  this  dissolution  of  the  pas- 
toral relation  to  be  the  spring  of  1817.  This  may  be  correct, 
though  1  am  inclined  to  think  it  was  a  year  or  two  earlier. 
The  records  of  Ohio  Presbytery  would  determine  this  point; 
but  I  have  not  bad  access  to  them.  Mr.  Dod  spent  the  remain- 
der of  his  ministerial  life  in  the  Lower  Congregation,  where, 
according  to  Mi-.  Harvison's  statement,  "his  labors  among  the 
people  of  his  charge  were  greatly  I'1,  -<'<\  of  God,  not  only  in 
promoting  the  regular  increase  of  the  church,  but  several  pre- 
cious seasons  of  the  special  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were 
enjoyed  under  his  long  and  faithful    ministry." 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Dod's  dismission,  the  Rev.  Thomas  lloge 
was  residing  in  Washington,  engaged  in  mercantile  business. 
He  served  the  Upper  Ten-mile  people  as  stated  simply  for 
about  three  years.  It  was  in  his  time  that  the  first  frame 
meeting  house  was  erected,  in  the  year  1818;  toward  which 
he  contributed  the  handsome  sum  of  $100.  Mr.  Hoge  was  a 
worthy  man,  and  a  highly  respectable  preacher,  lie  possessed 
good  talents,  had  received  an  excellent  education,  and,  as  a. 
writer,  he  is  said  to  have  been  neat,  clear,  flowing  and  logical. 
He  was  a  prominent  and  influential  member  of  the  Presbytery 
of  ^Washington,  and  for  several  years  its  stated  clerk  . 

Mr.  Hoge  contracted  only  to  preach  on  the  Sabbath.  His 
secular  business  precluded  pastoral  labor  on  his  part.  Indeed, 
he  was  neither  engaged  nor  expected  to  perform  tins  kind  of 


20 

work.  Yet  the  old  revival  spirit  was  still  burning  in  Upper 
Ten-mile.  It  is  a  lire  that  was  early  kindled  here ;  it  got 
strong  head  under  the  fervid  ministries  of  Dod  and  Moore  ;  it 
has  been  fed  by  the  prayers  and  labors  of  many  faithful  men 
since  their  day,  both  in  the  ministry  and  the  laity ;  and  it  would 
be  hard  to  extinguish  it.  Without  either  prompting  or  direct 
cooperation  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hoge,  a  few  private  Christians 
determined  to  hold  a  special  meeting,  to  pray  for  a  visitation 
of  the  Spirit.  They  met  every  Thursday  evening  in  a  little 
school  house,  some  three  miles  distant  from  the  church.  Few 
attended  at  first ;  but  these  few  were  not  easily  discouraged. 
They  remembered  the  promise,  "if  the  blessing  tarry,  wait  for 
it."  Like  Jacob,  they  took  hold  on  God;  like  him,  too,  they 
held  on.  After  four  or  five  months  of  struggling  importunity, 
the  blessing  came.  The  number  in  attendance  increased. 
The  house  was  crowded,  and  many  stood  about  the  door  and 
windows.  God's  Spirit  was  manifestly  present  at  every  meet- 
ing. 'No  sermon  was  preached ;  no  exhortation  was  offered ; 
no  eloquent  or  stirring  appeals  were  made  to  the  feelings  of 
the  crowds  that  flocked  to  that  old  school  house ;  no  means  of 
any  kind  were  used,  except  prayer  and  private  conversation  by 
lay  members  of  the  church.  Yet  God's  people  were  revived ; 
sinners  were  awakened;  souls  were  converted;  and  some  fif- 
teen persons  or  upward  were  added  to  the  church. 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Wylie,  D.  D.,  President  of  Washington 
College,  succeeded  Mr.  Hoge  in  the  pulpit  of  this  church,  and 
filled  it  for  about  the  same  length  of  time,  say  from  1819  to 
1821.  He,  like  Mr.  Hoge,  served  the  congregation  in  the 
capacity  of  stated  supply.  Dr.  Wylie  was  a  man  of  mark. 
He  was  a  close  and  logical  reasoner,  a  vigorous  and  brilliant 
writer,  an  animated  and  eloquent  preacher.  Dr.  Brownson,  in 
his  Historical  Address  at  the  semi-centennial  celebration  of 
Washington  College,  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  gentleman  of  fine 
talents,  scholarship  and  address,  as  well  as  of  decided  char- 
acter, and  holding  high  ascendancy  over  the  minds  of  his 
friends." 

The  Rev.  Boyd  Mercer,  for  many  years  an  associate  judge 
of  the  county  court,  next  supplied  this  church  for  two  years ; 


21 

or  rather  during  the  summers  of  two  years,  viz.  1821  and  1822. 
He  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  much  influence.  He 
was  a  plain  but  solid  preacher.  His  theology  had  the  ring  of 
the  true  metal.  He  was  trained  and  licensed  by  the  old  Red- 
stone Presbytery.  He  was  a  strong  Calvinist ;  preached  boldly 
a  Pauline  divinity;  and  offended  some  of  his  hearers  by  pray- 
ing for  an  elect  world. 

A  unanimous  call  was  now  made  out  for  the  serviees  of  the 
Rev.  Ludovicus  Robbing;  but  a  difficulty  arising  on  the  ques- 
tion of  salary,  the  matter  fell  through.  Mr.  Robbins,  however, 
supplied  the  congregation  for  a  year.  Like  Mr.  Moore,  he 
was  a  New  England  man,  of  fair  talents  and  good  education. 
He  organized  the  first  Sabbath  s.-liool  ever  held  in  Ten-mile; 
which  has  been  kept  up,  with  happy  fruits,  ever  since.  He 
was  a  devout  Christian,  and  a  zealous  and  earnest  preacher. 
There  was  an  awakening  during  his  one  year's  ministry  ;  the 
result  of  which  was  an  accession  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
individuals  to  the  communion  of  the  church.  Notwithstanding 
the  many  excellencies  of  Mr.  Robbins,  and  the  success  attend- 
ing his  Labors,  there  was  an  eccentricity  about  him,  a  want  of 
balance,  which,  in  all  probability,  would  have  marred,  if  not 
prevented,  his  permanent  usefulness. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Robbins,  the  congregation  re- 
mained vacant  for  several  years,  with  only  occasional  supplies 
from  the  Presbytery  and  other  sources.  Fortunately,  they  had 
among  them  an  excellent  reader,  a  schoolmate  of  the  late  elo- 
quent Samuel  L.  Southard,  of  New  Jersey,  and  trained  by  him 
in  the  art  of  elocution,  who  preached,  effectively,  hundreds  of 
sermons  composed  by  the  great  lights  of  the  church;  a  vener- 
able septuagenarian,  who  is  with  us  here  to-day,*  in  a  green 
old  age,  to  rejoice  before  the  Lord. 

Again,  during  this  interval,  in  answer  to  the  wrestling 
prayers,  and  through  the  faithful  efforts  of  pious  laymen,  did 
the  Lord  make  bare  his  arm  for  salvation,  and  pour  out  the 
converting  influences  of  his  Spirit.  This  occurred  in  the  same 
neighborhood  with  the  other  lay  revival,  (if  the  expression  is 

*The  sentence  is  left  as  originally  written,  though  the  person  referred  to  was 
absent  on  account  of  ill  health. 


22 

allowable,)  of  which,  indeed,  it  was,  hi  all  respects,  the  coun- 
terpart. As  the  fruit  of  it,  about  twenty,  principally  young 
persons,  were  hopefully  converted,  and  joined  themselves  to 
the  people  of  God,  in  a  public  profession  of  religion. 

Here  it  is  proper  to  notice  an  important  movement,  which 
took  place  about  this  time.  The  temperance  reform  had  now 
been  fairly  inaugurated  in  the  United  States.  Circumstances 
had  given  an  unparalleled  prevalence  to  the  manufacture  of 
ardent  spirits  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  The  distilleries  in 
this  and  the  adjoining  counties  averaged  one  to  every  three  or 
four  farms.  Ten-mile  had  its  full  share.  Numbers  might  be 
counted  from  every  hill-top.  Not  less  than  eight  or  ten  were 
found  within  the  bounds  of  this  congregation.  Most  of  them 
were  owned  and  worked  by  church  members  ;  for  the  turning: 
of  grain  into  poison  was  then  everywhere  thought  to  be  a 
Christian  occupation,  and  the  use  of  this  poison  as  a  common 
beverage  necessary  and  proper.  At  this  juncture  a  temperance 
lecture  was  announced  within  these  bounds.  The  lecturer  was 
a  Methodist  brother,  and  the  meeting  was  held  in  the  Meth- 
odist church.  Curiosity  and  interest  drew  together  a  vast 
concourse  of  people.  The  lecturer  painted  the  evils  of  intem- 
perance in  vivid  colors.  He  represented  it  as  the  monster 
vice  of  the  age.  Eloquently  and  powerfully  did  he  appeal  to 
all  to  join  the  temperance  cause.  Only  five  or  six,  however, 
gave  their  names  as  recruits.  But  the  seed  had  been  sown. 
It  germinated.  It  grew.  And,  in  an  incredibly  brief  time, 
it  bore  abundant  fruit,  Within  less  than  one  year  from  that 
meeting,  there  was  not  a  distillery  within  the  bounds  of  the 
congregation,  nor  a  gallon  of  spirits  on  sale!  Nor  from  that 
day  to  this,  has  there  been  in  the  Upper  Ten-mile  district  a 
tavern,  store,  shop,  or  place  of  any  kind,  except  the  doctor's 
office,  where  distilled  liquors  could  be  bought !  What  a  con- 
quest over  custom,  prejudice,  appetite  and  interest !  I  mention 
these  things,  not  simply  because  they  belong  to  the  religious 
history  of  this  people,  but  much  more  because  they  seem  to  me 
to  betoken  an  unusually  sensitive  and  tender  conscience ;  a 
conscience  quick  to  discern,  and  prompt  to  obey,  every  moni- 
tion of  duty. 


23 

I  .shall  be  excused  for  mentioning,  in  this  connection,  an  in- 
cident of  a  more  private  nature,  which  confirms  and  illustrates 
the  same  praiseworthy  trait.  A  young  man,  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  had  invested  all  his  little  capital,  amount- 
ing to  a  few  hundred  dollars,  in  a  distillery.  He  had  been 
present  at  the  first  temperance  lecture,  and  had  ventured  to 
suggest  some  objections  to  the  views  put  forth.  The  next  day, 
on  going  to  his  distillery,  he  took  with  him  his  Bible,  deter- 
mined to  construct  out  of  it  as  Btrong  an  argument  as  he  could, 
in  favor  of  the  use  of  strong  drink.  Having  finished  his  paper, 
he  showed  it  to  some  persons  whose  interest  lay  in  the  same 
direction.  They  were  pleased  with  bis  argument,  and  urged 
him  to  publish  it.  kiAVait  a  bit,"  said  lie,  "till  I  see  what  can 
be  said,  out  of  the  same  book,  on  the  other  side."  The  next 
day  be  set  himself  at  this  task.  In  the  evening,  on  comparing 
the  two  papers,  he  was  surprised,  he  said,  to  find  that  "he  had 
beaten  himself  all  hollow."  He  was  convinced  that  the  manu- 
facture of  ardent  spirits  was  wrong,  ami.  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  be  resolved  to  abandon  it.  Hut  here  a  question 
arose,  which  involved  a  long  and  painful  struggle.  If  it  was 
wrong  for  him  to  make  whiskey,  would  it  not  he  just  as  wrong 
for  him  to  sell  his  distillery  to  another  to  make  it?  His  con- 
science told  him  it  would.  Hut.  on  the  other  hand,  all  his 
property  was  there.  That  property  was  all  his  dependence  for 
supporting  a  rising  family.  Could  it  be  required  of  him  to 
make  such  a  sacrifice?  Must  he,  for  conscience  sake  and 
Christ's  sake,  give  up  the  last  penny,  ami  be  reduced  to  begin 
the  world  again  as  a  poor  man,  with  a  wife  and  children,  dear 
as  his  heart's  blood,  clinging  to  him  for  bread  and  shelter? 
The  struggle  was  severe,  but  the  victory  decisive.  Christian 
principle  and  Christian  faith  triumphed.  A  fair  offer  had  been 
made  to  him  for  his  distillery.  He  took  the  matter  into  con- 
sideration. At  length  a  decision  was  pressed.  An  answer 
was  promised  in  the  morning.  That  night  was  spent  in  ear- 
nest thought  and  fervent  prayer.  In  the  early  dawn  of  the 
next  day,  a  man,  with  a  sledge-hammer  on  his  shoulder,  might 
have  been  seen  bending-  his  steps  toward  that  fountain  of 
death,  with  intent  to  cut  off  the  flow  of  its  poisonous  and  fiery 


24 

streams  in  all  future  time.  Those  stills,  by  whose  curious  me- 
chanism the  staff  of  life  had  hitherto  been  converted  into  dis- 
ease and  death,  were  from  that  moment  to  be  deprived  of  all 
power  of  mischief.  In  the  expressive  language  of  the  doer 
and  narrator  of  the  deed,  they  were  then  and  there,  through 
successive  blows  of  that  same  sledge-hammer,  brought  down 
with  a  will  by  a  stalwart  arm,  "all  broken  to  shatteration." 
The  venerable  man,  now  bending  beneath  the  burden  of  years, 
in  relating  this  transaction  to  me,  remarked  that,  while  he 
hoped  that  he  put  no  trust  in  his  own  works  for  acceptance  in 
the  last  day,  yet  upon  no  one  action  of  his  whole  life  did  he 
now  look  back,  from  the  borders  of  the  grave,  with  so  much  sat- 
isfaction, as  upon  this  act  of  fidelity  to  conscience  and  to  God. 

The  Rev.  Cornelius  Laughran  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the 
congregation  of  Upper  Ten-mile  in  December,  1827."  Mr.  L. 
was  a  native  of  the  North  of  Ireland,  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able ability  and  learning,  and  was  especially  well  versed  in 
Scripture.  His  thoughts  were  often  vigorous  and  original, 
and  his  utterances  piquant  and  racy  ;  yet  his  style  of  preaching- 
was  not  only  rough  and  unpolished,  but  coarse  and  harsh,  de- 
scending sometimes  to  gross  personalities.  His  sermons  were 
apt  to  be  wearisome  from  their  length,  being  drawn  out  often 
to  two,  and  at  times  even  to  three  hours.  He  spent,  I  might 
say  wasted,  much  time  on  the  chimera  of  a  perpetual  motion, 
on  one  occasion  going  oft*  with  his  machine  to  Pittsburgh,  and 
for  three  Sabbaths  leaving  his  people  without  preaching.  In 
temper,  he  was  hasty,  rash  and  violent ;  in  action,  pragmatic 
and  impracticable.  He  left  the  Presbyterian  for  the  Cumber- 
land body,  but  soon,  in  turn,  became  dissatisfied  with  them ; 
and  for  many  years  before  his  death  he  was  without  any  eccle- 
siastical connection.  With  him,  the  troubles  of  this  people 
commenced.  Party  spirit,  strife  and  division  were  introduced 
into  this  hitherto  peaceful  fold  ;  and  in  eighteen  months  after 
his  installation,  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  by  Pres- 
bytery at  the  request  of  the  congregation,  or  at  least,  of  a 
large  body  of  its  most  pious  and  influential  members. 

Yet  we  must  not  omit  to  record,  to  the  honor  of  Divine 
grace,  that  during  the  earlier  months  of  Mr.  Laughran's  brief 


25 

ministry,  God  again. poured  out  his  Spirit  on  Ten-mile;  and 
in  the  first  half  of  the  year  1828  forty-two  were  added  to  the 
church  on  examination. 

■For  a  year  or  more  the  congregation  remained  without  sta- 
ted preaching.  Even  during  this  year,  notwithstanding  the 
unhappy  state  of  division  to  which  the  people  had  been  re- 
duced, a  gentle  shower  of  gracious  influences  descended,  and 
eighteen  were  hopefully  converted,  and  received  to  the  com- 
munion iif  the  faithful. 

We  approach  now  the  darkest  and  most  disastrous  period  in 
the  history  of  this  church  ;  a  crisis  which  left  it  bruised,  torn, 
bleeding  at  every  pore,  and  gasping  for  Life.  It  will  be  readily 
perceived,  that  I  refer  to  the  irruption  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterians,  and  the  unhappy  dismemberment  which  ensued  there- 
upon :  a  transaction,  or  series  of  transactions,  over  winch,  if  it 
were  possible,  I  would  gladly  draw  the  veil  of  oblivion,  and 
forever  cover  them  from  human  view.  I  tread  here  on  smoth- 
ered fires,  and  walk  amid  half  cooled  plow-shares.  Main' of 
the  actors  in  those  scenes  are  still  living;  Borne  of  them  are 
here  to  listen  to  me  to-day.  I  would  not  willingly  give  pain, 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  anything  that  ought  to  give  pain  to  any 
hearer.  Yet.  since  I  must  speak  of  these  things,  I  will  speak 
of  them  with  the  fearlessness  and  fidelity  of  truth,  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  I  hope,  with  the  kindness  and  candor  which  be- 
long to  Christian  charity. 

In  the  fall  of  1830,  the  Rev.  Jacob  Lindley,  a  member  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Washington,  became  the  stated  supply  of  this 
congregation.  He  was  one  of  that  group  of  little  children  in 
Foil  Lindley,  who  received  baptism  at  the  hand  of  Thaddeus 
Dod,  on  the  first  administration  of  that  ordinance,  after  the 
coming  of  the  Jersey  emigrants.  He  was  converted,  instru- 
mentally,  through  the  reception  of  that  sacrament.  Mr.  Lind- 
ley was.  doubtless,  a  good  man.  No  question  is  raised  of  his 
piety.  His  feelings  lav  much  upon  the  surface,  and  he  was 
easily  moved  to  tears.  He  is  reported  to  have  had  a  happy 
ability  in  addressing  children.  He  was  a  man  of  extensive 
reading,  and  possessed,  1  have  been  told,  large  stores  of 
knowledge.    He  must  have  acquired  better  than  he  elaborated; 

4 


26 

lie  must  have  taken  in  more  than  he  digested.  His  preaching 
powers  were  respectable  ;  nothing  more.  He  had  little  grasp 
of  mind,  little  breadth  of  intellectual  vision,  little  clearness  of 
perception,  little  nicety  of  discrimination,  little  logical  acumen, 
little  depth  or  force  of  reasoning,  little  power  of  analysis  and 
combination,  little  vigor  of  mental  action  of  any  kind.  His 
tone  of  thought  and  style  of  writing  were  loose,  rambling, 
confused,  pointless  and  feeble.  What  meaning  he  had,  he 
was  accustomed  to  bury  and  conceal  beneath  a  mass  of  words.. 
His  Infant  Philosophy,  a  hook  of  three  hundred  and  forty-four 
pages,  contains  some  good  thoughts  and  just  views;  and  if 
they  were  condensed  into  a  lecture,  instead  of  being  spun  out 
to  a  volume,  they  might  he  readable. 

After  Mr.  Laughran's  dismission,  he  had  been  tried  and 
convicted  by  the  Presbytery  of  Washington  on  sundry  charges, 
preferred  by  members  of  this  congregation,  and  in  April,  1830, 
had  been,  on  the  order  of  Presbytery,  publicly  admonished  by 
the  Moderator.  Chagrined  and  exasperated  by  this  rebuke, 
Laughran  and  his  friends  wrote  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rians in  Tennessee,  inviting  a  visit  from  them.  This  invitation 
was  accepted;  and  the  next  year,  1831,  five  of  their  ministers, 
among  the  ablest  in  their  body,  came  on  ;  disavowing,  how- 
ever, according  to  credible  information,  any  intention  of  seek- 
ing to  organize  new  churches  of  their  own,  their  object  being 
merely  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  aid  brethren  who  were  willing 
to  open  their  doors  to  them,  in  waking  up  dead  churches,  and 
in  winning  souls  to  Christ.  Before  their  arrival,  Mr.  Lindtey 
preached  a  sermon  in  this  pulpit,  in  which  he  avowed  this  as 
their  object,  exhorted  the  people  to  give  them  a  generous  wel- 
come, and  sought  to  allay  any  misgivings  that  might  be  felt, 
by  telling  them  not  to  fear  that  the  Romans  would  come  and 
take  away  their  place  and  nation.  Mr.  Lindley,  of  course, 
opened  wide  his  church  to  them ;  Mr.  Laughran  had  none  to 
open.  In  the  course  of  the  summer  and  autumn,  they  held 
camp  meetings  at  different  places,  preached  with  zeal  and  fer- 
vor, produced  great  excitement,  set  everything  in  a  blaze,  and 
numbered  their  converts  by  hundreds.  The  remark  was 
often  made,  however,  by  persons  of  a  more  sober  and  prudent 


27 

turn,  that  the  back  door  would  have  to  be  kept  as  wide  open 
as  tin'  front.  Yet  it  must  be  owned  that,  while  many  of  these 
converts  fell  away,  many  have  stood  the  test  of  time;  and  among 
them  are  some  of  the  most  precious  Christians  I  have  ever 
known.  One  of  them  is  now  an  active,  useful  and  honored 
member  of  the  session  of  this  church  ;  and  of  another  in  our 
communion,  it  may  be  said,  as  of  old  it  was  of  Phebe,  that,  in 
a  spiritual  sense,  "  she  hath  been  a  succorer  of  many,"  and  as  it 

was  also  of  ••  the  hcloved  Persis,"  that  "  she  hath  labored  much 

in  the  Lord.'.' 

During  the  progress  of  these  events,  it  began  to  he  intima- 
ted that  some  of  the  converts  desired  to  he  connected  with  the 
Cumberland  body.      In  order  to  do  this   they  must  have  a  ses- 
sion.     Accordingly,  ruling  elder-  were  chosen,  though  there 
was  no  church  for  them  to  rule.     In  utter  derogation  and  vio- 
lation of  the  constitution  of  the   Presbyterian  church,  it  was 
agreed  that  this  new  session  and  that  of  Mr.   Lindley  should 
hold  a  joint    meeting  for  the  examination  of  applicants  for  ad- 
mission to  the   church,  and    that  it  should   be  left  to  the  candi- 
dates to  -elect  which  church  they  would  enter.      The  record  of 
this  meeting  is  now  before  me  in  the  minutes  of  the  session. 
under  date  of  September  11th.  L83i.     Sixty-two  persons  were 
received,   only   thirteen    of   whom    elected   the    Presbyterian 
church.      Mr.  Lindley  took  an  active  part  in  favoring  the  con- 
nection of  the  applicants  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians. 
A  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  was  immediately  organ- 
ized, and  soon  after,  two  others;   all  within  the  bounds  of  this 
congregation :  all  drawing  their  original  members  from  this 
church;  and   together,   forming  a   perfect   cordon   around  it. 
Mr.  Lindley  still  continued  his  connection  with  the   Presbyte- 
rian church,  and   his  ministerial    labors  among  this  people. 
But  he  exerted  himself  to  break  down  and  destroy  the  church 
which  he  was  under  vows  to  build    up  ami  establish  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power,     lie  invited  the  Cumberland  brethren 
to  the   free   use   of  the   pulpit    and   church  edifice;   he  decried 
and  ridiculed  the  standards  of  the  Presbyterian  church;    lie 
even  went  from  door  to  door,  (as  persons  now  within  the  sound 
of  my  voice  can  attest,)  in  some  instances  making  repeated  and 


/ 


28 

protracted  visits,  for  the  purpose  of  alienating  the  people  from 
the  church  of  their  fathers,  and  persuading  them  to  join  the 
newly  organized  societies.  An  attempt  was  made  to  wrest  the 
church  property  from  its  rightful  ownership  ;  hut,  as  a  clause  in 
the  deed  of  gift  happily  restricted  the  donation  to  a  Presbyteri- 
an church,  this  was  soon  abandoned  as  hopeless,  under  the  ad- 
vice of  legal  counsel.  But  I  need  not  swell  this  melancholy  and 
heart-sickening  detail.  Mr.  Lindley  continuing  to  encourage 
and  promote  the  Cumberland  movement,  to  the  injury  of  the  in- 
tegrity and  peace  of  the  churches,  and  of  this  church  in  particu- 
lar, the  Presbytery  tiled  charges  of  schism  against  him.  When 
about  to  proceed  to  trial,  he  gave  notice  of  his  withdrawal 
from  our  body;  and,  although  the  demands  of  strict  disci]  dine 
would  have  required  the  case  to  be  issued,  it  was  judged  best, 
under  all  the  circumstances,  to  strike  his  name  from  the  roll, 
and  let  him  go ;  which  was  accordingly  done.  In  this,  I  think, 
the  Presbytery  acted  wisely  ;  and  I  will  make  this  general  re- 
mark, in  passing,  concerning  the  Presbytery  of  Washington, 
viz.  that  its  course  on  the  questions  which  arose  touching  this 
Cumberland  schism,  many  of  them  difficult  and  perplexing, 
was  marked  by  a  dignity,  moderation,  wisdom  and  justice, 
above  all  praise. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  Cumberland  Presbyterian  churches 
in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

~No  church  in  all  this  country  suffered  like  the  Upper  Ten- 
mile  church.  It  had  been,  in  former  times,  one  of  the  glories 
of  this  western  Zion — united,  loyal,  prosperous  and  happy — a 
stronghold  of  our  King.  Its  membership  ranged  from  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred.  It  had  a  session,  consisting  of  ten 
ruling  elders,  at  the  time  of  the  great  defection — some  of  them, 
at  least,  staunch  and  true  as  ever  stood  in  the  breach  of  a 
stormed  garrison,  or  led  a  forlorn  hope  against  a  victorious 
battalion.  But  the  whirlwind  of  1831  swept,  with  a  desolating 
fury,  over  this  fair  and  lovely  hill  of  Zion,  prostrating  towers 
and  battlements,  and,  in  one  brief  hour,  laying  in  ruins  the 
whole  stately  structure,  reared  by  the  toils  and  the  prayers  of 
generations  of  godly  and  devoted  men.  Even  at  this  distance 
of  time  a  tear  starts  unbidden  to  the  eye,  at  mention  of  the 


29 

fact,  that  when,  in  1832,  Presbytery  sent  a  committee  to  in- 
quire into  the  condition  of  things  here,  only  seven  individuals, 
in  a  concourse  of  hundreds  gathered  upon  the  occasion,  were 
found  willing  to  rise  in  their  places  and  declare  themselves  old 
fashioned  Presbyterians.  Five  members  of  the  session  bent  to 
the  storm,  and  five  stood  firm  to  their  post.  These  latterwere 
Jacob  Eathaway,  dames  Reed,  Reuben  Sanders,  (now  gone  to 
their  reward.)  Zenas  Condil  (aged,  and  removed  to  the  Far 
West,)  and  Lewis  Dille,  who  is  with  as  to-day,  in  the  vigor  of 
manhood,  and  prepared  still  to  battle  valiantly  for  the  Lord  of 
hosts.  Long  niav  lie  live  to  be  a  Btandard-bearer  in  the  camp 
of  Israel* 

The  church  was  now  reduced  to  a  mere  handful,  and  be- 
came a  bye-word  ami  a  reproach  in  the  place  where  it  had 
been  a  glory  and  a  joy.  It  remained  without  a  pastor  for 
many  years,  ami  had  but  a  struggling  existence.  Presbytery 
Benl  some  supplies,  ami  a  few  were  obtained  from  other  quar- 
ters :  hut  tin-  stated  ministry  of  the  word  was  a  blessing  quite 
beyond  its  pecuniary  ability  to  procure.  The  ruling  elder, 
Jacob  Hathaway,  true  to  Presbyterianism  as  the  needle  to  the 
pole,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  round  the  country,  gathering 
a  dollar  here  and  a  half  dollar  there,  to  constitute  a  little  fund 
wherewith  to  procure  occasional  supplies.  In  the  Bpring,  Ml'. 
Lewis  Dille  took  with  him  >ixty  dollar-,  obtained  in  this  way, 
to  reimburse  such  members  of  Presbytery  as  had  preached  for 
the  Ten-mile  people  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  yruv.  With 
a  noble  generosity,  they  declined  all  compensation  for  these  ser- 
vices, telling  the  delegate  to  take  his  money  back,  and  keep  it 
for  future  use  in  Bupplyingthe  littleflock  withgospel  ordinances. 

The  venerable  I>r.  Elliott,  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  at  Washington,  preached  here  twice  in  1832; 
once  by  appointment  of  Presbytery,  with  a  view  to  heal  divi- 
sions, and  once  at  the  invitation  of  the  Bession,  as  an  ad  of 
Christian  and  ministerial  kindness.  On  the  first  of  these 
occasions,  his  text  was,  "Do  all  things  without  murmurings 
and  disputings."  Phil.  2  :  14.  On  the  second,  he  preached 
from  "2  Tim.  1  :  '.» — "  Who  hath  saved  us.  and  called  us  with 
an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works,  but  according  to 


30 

his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus 
before  the  world  began."  The  Calvinistic  system,  according 
to  its  usual  fate,  had  been  greatly  misrepresented  by  the  Cum- 
berland brethren;  not  perhaps  by  design,  but  from  want  of  a 
thorough  comprehension  of  its  doctrines  and  bearings.  The 
purpose  of  Dr.  Elliott's  visit,  at  this  time,  was  to  correct  these 
perversions,  and  to  explain  and  vindicate  the  truth.  And 
nobly  did  he  fulfill  his  mission.  Presbyterian  ism  found  in  him 
a  champion  worthy  of  itself.  His  discourse  was  an  admirable 
one.  An  outline  of  it  now  lies  before  me.  Did  time  permit, 
I  would  gladly  present  to  you  its  plan  in  full.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  his  grand  design  was  to  open  up  the  benefits  conferred 
upon  believers — salvation  and  effectual  calling ;  and  the  source 
of  those  benefits,  in  the  gracious  purpose  of  God,  formed  in 
eternity,  without  any  external  moving  cause,  without  any  re- 
gard to  our  own  works,  either  foreseen  or  possessed.  These 
timely  services,  on  the  part  of  this  able  and  excellent  man,  had 
a  happy  effect  in  staunching  the  bleeding  wounds  of  this  flock 
of  Christ,  and  in  bringing  back  some  to  the  fold,  who  had 
gone  off  under  the  influence  of  delusion  and  mistake. 

The  kindness  of  Drs.  Stockton,  Elliott  and  M'Chiskey,  during 
their  long  state  of  feebleness  and  reproach,  is  still  held  in  special 
and  grateful  remembrance  by  the  people  of  Upper  Ten-mile. 

In  the  year  1838,  the  Rev.  James  M.  Smith  was  ordained 
and  installed  pastor  of  this  long  vacant  congregation.  Mr. 
Smith  is  still  living,  which  forbids  any  extended  remarks  on 
his  ministerial  character  and  labors.  He  had  the  tokens  of  a 
sincere  Christian,  and,  for  a  young  man,  fresh  from  the  scenes 
of  professional  training,  he  was  a  highly  respectable  preacher. 
A  difficulty  arose  early  in  his  ministry-  Indeed,  a  feelino-  of 
opposition  had  sprung  up  and  begun  to  display  itself,  even 
before  his  installation.  This  naturally  cramped  his  usefulness, 
and  his  ministry  appears  to  have  been  attended  with  but  mod- 
erate results.  Though  it  lasted  six  years,  I  find  upon  the 
records  the  names  of  but  nineteen  persons  added  on  examina- 
tion ;  and  several  of  these  were  wanderers  returning  to  the 
fold,  who  had  gone  off  in  the  great  defection  of  1831 ;  two  of 
them  had  been  elders  in  the  Cumberland  church. 


31 

Mr.  Smith  was  dismissed  in  184*.  For  two  years  the  church 
remained  vacant.  The  word  was  administered  by  supplies,  as 
they  could  be  obtained,  for  a  less  or  greater  length  of  time. 
Among  the  young  brethren  who  officiated  during  this  period, 
was  the  Rev.  Alfred  Paull,  a  name  whicb  is  but  a  synonym  for 
modesty,  gentleness,  kindness,  dignity,  purity  and  worth.  An- 
other was  a  Mi-.  Miller,  concerning  whom  the  present  speaker 
lias  no  knowledge.  Third  in  this  list  of  temporary  supplies 
occurs  the  name  of  the  Rev.  John  R.  Dundas.  Mr.  Dundas, 
L  believe,  continued  longest  of  the  three.  He  was  young, 
ardent,  zealous  and  eloquent,  lie  put  his  whole  strength  into 
whatever  he  undertook.  Under  his  labors  the  church  took  a 
fresher  and  more  vigorous  start  than  ever  it  had.  since  the 
dismemberment.  Crowds  attended  upon  his  ministry,  and 
the  old  meetinghouse  began  to  present  on  the  Sabbath  the 
animated  appearance  of  former  days.  Whatever  immediate 
results  might  or  might  not  have  shown  themselves,  seed  was 
sown  in  that  brief  service  of  six  months,  which,  in  after  years, 
matured  into  fruits  of  holiness  and  Balvation. 

In  the  spring  of  1846,  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Murray,  a  professor 
in  Washington  College,  received  and  accepted  a  call  to  he- 
come  the  stated  supply  of  this  congregation.  In  him  were 
revived  the  power  and  splendor  of  the  early  pulpit  of  Ten- 
mile  church.  Mr.  Murray  was  a  man  of  strong  intellect,  en- 
larged culture,  unusual  power  of  concentration  and  high  men- 
tal activity.  lie  was  a  ripe  classical  scholar,  and  a  thorough 
master  of  English,  which  he  wrote  with  uncommon  purity, 
elegance  and  force.  His  style  was  polished,  ornate  and  flow- 
ing; his  rhetoric  brilliant  and  impassioned;  his  logic  lumi- 
nous and  convincing.  He  was  so  careful  of  his  reputation,  so 
ambitious  of  shining,  that  he  never  preached  without  the  most 
elaborate  preparation,  writing  out  his  sermons  with  the  great- 
est care,  and  committing  them  so  perfectly  that  he  seldom 
carried  a  single  note  into  the  pulpit.  Had  his  voice  and  elo- 
cution been  equal  to  his  other  gifts,  he  would  unquestionably 
have  been  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  effective  of  pulpit 
orators. 

Such  was  Mr.  Murray  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  ministry. 


32 

But  this  is  only  half  the  story,  and  the  least  interesting  and 
important  part  of  it.  His  ministerial  life  divides  itself  into 
two  periods,  separated  from  eaeh  other  by  a  sharp  line  of  de- 
marcation. In  the  spring  of  1851  it  pleased  God,  in  his  sov- 
ereign goodness,  once  more  to  pour  out  his  spirit  on  Upper 
Ten-mile.  This  was  a  fresh  baptism  to  both  pastor  and  people. 
To  the  former  it  was  like  life  from  the  dead.  A  great  change 
now  took  place  in  the  character  of  his  piety  and  his  preaching. 
Both  Dr.  Weed  and  Mr.  Comings,  in  their  letters  to  Dr.  Sprague, 
notice  this  tact,  and  speak  of  it  with  emphasis.  His  temper 
became  softer,  his  feelings  kindlier,  his  humility  deeper,  his 
love  more  glowing,  his  faith  stronger,  and  his  whole  soul  im- 
bued with  a  new  and  higher  spiritual  life.  There  was  a  like 
change  in  the  tone  of  his  pulpit  performances.  Henceforth 
he  determined,  with  Paul,  to  know  nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and 
him  crucified.  His  lips  were  touched  as  with  a  living  coal  from 
the  altar.  He  no  longer  needed  the  laborious  preparation  of 
former  years.  "Always  ready,"  was  now  his  maxim.  He 
could  speak  daily  from  the  fullness  of  his  heart,  and  "electrify 
the  crowds  that  flocked  to  hear  him."  "When  he  opened  his 
lips  to  address  the  throne  of  grace,  he  seemed  to  stand  at  the 
very  gate  of  heaven  ;  and  when  lie  preached,  it  appeared  that 
his  mind  was  so  absorbed  with  the  person,  offices  and  media- 
torial glories  of  the  Redeemer,  that  his  soul  was  literally  on 
fire." 

The  revival  to  which  I  have  referred  as  having  occurred  in 
the  early  part  of  1851,  was  a  deep,  powerful,  glorious  work 
of  God.  An  accession  of  thirty-five  to  the  church  was  the 
fruit  of  it.  From  this  time  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Murray's  min- 
istry and  life,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  greatly  improved 
state  of  religion  in  the  church;  and  there  was  a  second  season 
of  special  interest  early  in  1853,  less  extensive  than  the  former, 
but  still  most  precious  and  refreshing.  Some  ten  or  twelve 
individuals  made  a  public  profession  of  religion,  either  then 
or  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  summer. 

Mr.  Murray  departed  this  life  on  the  23d  of  March,  1853, 
having  been  brought  to  the  grave  by  a  disease  contracted  in 
attendance   upon   a   protracted  meeting  at   Mill   Creek,   Pa., 


33 

where  he  overtasked  his  powers  ;  besides  which,  in  returning 
Lome,  lie  exposed  himself  on  horseback,  to  a  "cold,  violent 
March  storm." 

1  laving,  since  truth  required  it,  and  with  hearty  good  will, 
said  much  in  praise  of  Mr.  Murray,  fidelity  constrains  me  to 
suggest  a  criticism,  to  which  I  conceive  lie  laid  himself  open, 
as  a  ministerial  workman,  lie  was  a  man  of  cautious  spirit, 
which  happily  induced  uncommon  prudence  in  the  exercise  of 
his  office.  But  I  cannot  hut  think  that  his  circumspection 
was  sometimes  in  excess.  He  held,  fully  and  strongly,  the 
system  of  doctrines  known  under  the  name  of  Calvinism. 
Elsewhere  he  was  accustomed  to  preach  these  doctrines  with 
boldness.  But,  owing  probably  to  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  this  congregation,  he  appears  to  have  felt  an  undue  timidity 
in  regard  to  preaching  them  here.  This  I  cannot  hut  regard 
as  a  grave  error.  It  is  ;i  thorough  doctrinal  training  which  has 
given  to  the  Presbyterian  church  its  strength,  courage,  sta- 
bility and  power.  This  is  the  only  thing  that  can  hold  any 
church  firm  to  its  moorings  amid  the  storms  and  the  rage  of 
opposition.  "  W  the  foundations  be  destroyed,  what  shall 
the  righteous  do'.'"  Bui  let  me  guard  against  misapprehen- 
sion. I  am  not  in  favor  of  controversial  preaching.  That  is 
hard.  (\v\\  cold  and  unfruitful.  But  there  is  a  different  and 
better  kind  of  doctrinal  preaching.  It  consists  in  the  full  and 
warm  exhibition  of  the  great  doctrines  which  enter  into  the 
scheme  of  redeeming  mercy,  as  living  principles  of  action. 
Doctrine. is  in  order  to  holy  living.  Doctrine  has  a  mighty 
power  in  it.  Indeed,  all  the  power  of  the  gospel  just  lies  in 
the  doctrine-  of  the  go-pel.  Right  doctrinal  preaching,  there- 
fore, is  the  most  practical  and  the  most  effective  kind  of 
preaching. 

After  a  vacancy  of  just  one  year,  during  which  the  Rev. 
Cyrus  Braddock,  then  a  licentiate,  supplied  the  pulpit  with 
ability  and  acceptance,  the  present  incumbent,  having  hecome 
Mr.  Murray's  successor  in  the  college,  succeeded  him  also  in 
the  pastorate  of  this  congregation,  his  ecclesiastical  relation 
to  it  being  that  of  stated  supply.  The  five  years,  during  which 
we  have  been  united  in  the  holy  relation  of  pastor  and  people, 

5 


34 

have  flown  swiftly  and  happily,  in  unbroken  love  and  harmony. 
The  briefest  review  of  the  history  of  this  period  is  all  that  the 
already  too  protracted  length  of  this  discourse  will  permit. 

1.  This  neat  and  commodious  house  of  worship  has  been 
reared  and  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God,  on  the  site  where  its  two  predecessors  stood.  The  year 
1854  saw  this  good  work  accomplished.  During  the  summer 
of  that  year,  we  worshiped,  most  comfortably  and  pleasantly, 
in  the  adjoining  grove.  It  is  remarkable  that  there  was  not  a 
single  rainy  Sabbath  during  all  that  season,  and  that  the  weath- 
er continued  suitable  for  out-door  services  until  November. 
The  house  itself  was  wholly  paid  for  by  the  congregation,  and 
is  out  of  debt ;  but  the  furniture  is  the  gift  of  friends  east  of 
the  mountains.  The  handsome  communion  service  wTas  pre- 
sented by  a  kind  Methodist  brother  of  Morris  county,  New 
Jersey,  whence  the  original  settlers  had  emigrated.  The 
beautiful  pulpit  Bible  and  Hymn  Book,  as  well  as  the  commu- 
nion table,  are  the  generous  gift  of  the  ladies  of  my  former 
charge,  in  East  Hampton,  Long  Island. 

2.  Increased  attention  has  been  paid  to  catechetical  instruc- 
tion. This  important  branch  of  religious  training  had  fallen 
into  general  neglect.  All  the  children  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
who  are  old  enough,  now  study  the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  most 
parents  require  it  to  be  learned  at  home.  Sixty-one  persons 
have  recited  the  whole  of  it  perfectly,  and  have  received  a 
handsome  gilt-edged  Bible  in  reward  of  their  diligence,  through 
the  benevolent  exertions  of  Mr.  Lemuel  Brewster,  of  New 
York. 

3.  The  session,  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  church,  in 
her  organic  capacity,  owes  a  most  solemn  duty  to  her  baptized 
children,  has  established  a  special  monthly  service  for  their 
benefit,  viz.  a  church  prayer  meeting  and  catechetical  exercise. 
While  this  is  established  primarily  for  the  children  of  the 
church,  all  others  are  invited  and  welcomed. 

4.  The  ordinance  of  infant  baptism,  which  had  been  for 
many  years  grievously  neglected,  has  been  revived,  and  is 
now  in  general  use.  This  change  has  been  effected  by  the 
blessing  of  God  on  public  instruction  from  the  pulpit  and  pri- 


35 

vate  conversation  with  all  parents  who  had  unbaptized  chil- 
dren, and  who  were  laboring  under  difficulties  and  scruples 
upon  the  subject.  In  many  instances,  whole  households  have 
been  baptized,  and  in  three  of  these  cases  the  families  contained 
five  children  each,  of  a  suitable  age  for  the  ordinance. 

5.  The  session,  which  formerly  met  only  at  communion  sea- 
sons, or  on  special  calls,  now  meets  statedly  once  a  month  for 
conference  and  prayer.  These  are  most  delightful  and  profit- 
able re-unions.  They  make  the  members  better  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  the  church  and  with  each  other,  and  so  tend 
to  increase  their  interest  in  the  church's  welfare,  and  to  draw 
closer  the  bonds  of  Christian  sympathy  and  fellowship  among 
themselves. 

6.  The  monthly  concert,  which  had  been  dropped  for  many 
years,  has  been  reestablished,  and  is  well  attended. 

7.  A  plan  of  systematic  benevolence  lias  been  organized  and 
happily  carried  into  effect.  All  who  are  so  disposed,  men,  wo- 
men and  children,  (and  these  last  arc  by  no  means  least  for- 
ward,) sign  a  pledge  to  contribute  at  the  rate  of  so  much  per 
week,  payable  quarterly,  to  the  Assembly's  Boards  and  other 
charities  approved  by  this  church;  the  distribution  of  the  be- 
nevolent funds  being  left  to  the  joint  boards  of  ruling  elders 
and  deacons.  This  scheme  has  been  adopted  with  great  una- 
nimity, and  has  more  than  doubled  the  gifts  of  the  church  the 
first  year.  The  plan  was  tried  as  an  experiment  for  one  year ; 
but  at  their  last  meeting,  the  session  passed  a  unanimous  vote 
of  approval  on  trial,  and  established  it  as  the  permanent  sys- 
tem of  the  church  ;  the  deacons  concurring  in  this  opinion 
and  action.     But, 

8.  How  to  work  this  system  ?  It  would  not  go  of  itself;  and 
the  session  already  had  its  hands  full.  We  had  no  deacons ; 
but  we,  i.  e.  the  congregation,  went  to  work  and  made  them, 
and  set  them  over  this  business.  There  are  four  deacons,  and 
the  congregation  is  divided  into  four  districts.  Each  deacon 
has  a  book,  in  which  the  pledge  is  plainly  written,  and  he  gets 
all  the  names  he  can  in  his  district,  not  refusing  half  a  cent,  or 
even  a  quarter  cent,  per  week.  Every  quarter  he  sees  to  the  col- 
lection of  these  subscriptions.     Generally  they  are  brought  to 


36 

church ;  but  when  otherwise,  he  calls  for  them  at  the  subscri- 
ber's residence.  Thus  the  work  is  done,  and  well  done.  The 
deacons  attend  the  meetings  of  session,  give  counsel,  and  offer 
prayer,  but  do  not  vote. 

9.  There  have  been  three  elections  of  officers  ;  one  of  ruling 
elders,  at  which  four  were  chosen  ;  a  second,  of  deacons,  at 
which  four  were  chosen,  but  one  of  these  died  before  ordina- 
tion ;  and  a  third,  of  one  deacon,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  de- 
ceased deacon  elect.  All  these  elections  were  conducted  with 
entire  harmony,  and  left  no  wounds  behind;  a  fact  which 
ought  to  be  recorded  to  the  honor  of  God's  grace. 

10.  Pastoral  visitation  has  been  regularly  performed  each 
year ;  the  elders  cheerfully,  faithfully  and  effectively  cooper- 
ating in  that  work.  They  have  richly  earned  the  name  of 
"helps,"  by  sustaining  and  cheering  the  pastor  in  his  labors. 

11.  Prayer  meetings  have,  for  the  most  part,  been  sustained 
on  Sabbath  evenings,  in  four  different  places  in  the  congrega- 
tion. The  attendance,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  has  varied. 
Sometimes  they  have  languished;  sometimes  they  have  been 
thronged.  In  general,  they  have  been  kept  up  at  a  healthy 
point ;  and  have  been  found  to  be  fruitful  means  of  grace. 

12.  The  congregation  has  been  greatly  prospered  in  its  spir- 
itual interests.  We  have  enjoyed  four  seasons  of  special  re- 
ligious awakening  and  revival.  In  connection  with  these  occa- 
sions, we  have  held  four  protracted  meetings,  each  covering  a 
period  of  about  three  weeks.  These  meetings  have  never  been 
of  the  forcing  order.  They  have  not  been  intended  nor  used 
to  get  up  feeling ;  but  have  been  rather  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  feeling.  Seventy-two  have  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
church  as  the  fruit  of  these  refreshings,  besides  some  twenty,  or 
upward,  hopefully  converted  in  connection  with  our  meetings, 
who  have  joined  other  churches,  chiefly  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian. Of  the  seventy-two  who  united  at  Ten-mile,  thirty 
were  heads  of  families,  fifteen  male  and  fifteen  female ;  and  of 
the  unmarried,  eighteen  were  males  and  twenty-four  females. 
Ten  have  been  received  on  certificate.  The  number  on  the  roll 
of  the  church,  who  were  resident  within  the  bounds  of  the  con- 
gregation when  the  present  incumbent  assumed  the  pastorate, 


37 

was  eighty-five ;  the  number  at  the  present  time  is  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty. 

I  must  not  tail  to  mention  here,  for  it  belongs  to  the  relig- 
ions history  and  the  religious  life  of  this  church,  a  circum- 
stance which  occurred  in  the  progress  of  these  revivals.  A 
violent  opposition  was  gotten  up  by  certain  persons  against 
the  doctrinal  standards  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  ex- 
citement  was   intense,  and  for  a  time  threatened  disaster  to 

Zion.     But  it  was  overruled  to  g 1.     No  one  event,  within 

my  ministry  here,  has  so  tended  to  settle  and  strengthen  the 
roots  of  a  sound  Presbyterianism  as  this,  or  has  caused  so  fair 
and  vigorous  a  growth  of  that  sturdy  old  tree;  which,  indeed, 
being  planted  in  Grod's  everlasting  truth,  shall  stand  against 
all  storms,  and  bloom  even  amid  the  wintry  hlasts.  So  the 
wrath  of  man  is  made  to  praise  the  Lord,  being  used  by  him 
as  an  instrument  in  furthering  his  own  cause. 

Thus  have  we  walked  about  our  Zion, .counted  her  towers, 
marked  her  bulwarks,  and  considered  her  palaces.  Thus  have 
we  traced,  hastily  and  imperfectly,  her  growth  from  her  infancy 
in  the  wilderness  to  a  hearty  and  vigorous  maturity;  the  sad 
calamity  which  left  her,  at  one  time,  dismembered,  mangled, 
and  despoiled  of  her  beauty  and  her  strength  ;  and  her  slow  hut 
sure  progress,  since,  toward  a  full  recovery  of  her  former  health 
and  vigor. 

( )ur  review  of  the  history  of  this  church,  cursory  and  imper- 
fect as  it  has  been,  is  fruitful  in  instruction.  It  conveys  lessons 
of  high  and  solemn  significance.  Upon  the-...  I  would  love  to 
dwell,  expanding  them  to  their  full  proportions,  and  reenfor- 
cing  them  with  added  arguments  and  illustrations.  But  time 
forbids.  The  briefest  exhibition  of  these  important  and  valua- 
ble monitions  is  all  that  can  he  attempted. 

1.  The  history  of  this  church  impressively  reminds  us  of  the 
goodness  and  faithfulness  of  a  covenant  God.  God  is  love. 
As  of  old,  in  the  case  of  Moses,  so  likewise  in  the  case  of  this 
people,  he  has  "made  all  his  goodness  to  pass  before  them." 
He  has  also  remembered  his  covenant,  and  been  faithful  to  the 
promise  of  his  grace,  "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake 
thee."     They  have  been  "  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in 


38 

the  wilderness,  in  perils  among  false  brethren,"  and  have  been 
called  to  pass  through  flood  and  flame.  But  in  all  their  fiery 
trials,  "  in  weariness  and  painfullness,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in 
cold  and  nakedness,"  amid  "fightings  without  and  fears 
within,"  they  have  ever  proved 

"His  sovereign,  eternal,  unchangeable  love." 

2.  The  history  of  this  church  teaches  a  lesson  of  gratitude 
to  God  for  what  our  fathers  achieved,  and  for  the  rich  inher- 
itance they  left  to  their  children.  They  laid  out  no  race- 
grounds,  established  no  dancing-schools,  devised  no  ways  to  loll 
in  the  lap  of  luxury,  and  paid  little  attention  to  any  mere  orna- 
mental, much  less  frivolous,  accomplishments.  But  they  met 
and  foiled  the  savage  foe.  They  felled  the  forest.  They  sub- 
dued the  virgin  soil.  They  established  schools.  They  reared 
the  Lord's  house.  They  sought  to  promote  mental,  moral  and 
religious  advancement.  In  a  word,  they  founded  all  those 
Christian  institutions  which  dignity,  adorn  and  bless  the  pres- 
ent state,  and 

"Which  point  the  progress  of  the  soul  to  God." 

This  is  what  the  fathers  did.  This  is  the  noble  legacy  which 
they  bequeathed  to  their  posterity. 

3.  The  annals  of  this  church  illustrate  the  value  of  courage, 
resolution,  enterprise.  What  but  the  most  indomitable  energy 
and  perseverance  could  have  scaled  the  mighty  range  of  the 
Alleghenies,  penetrated  to  the  very  heart  of  a  savage  wilder- 
ness, braved  the  terrors  and  the  toils  of  a  frontier  life,  and,  by 
dint  of  many  a  weary  step  and  many  a  sturdy  Mow,  caused  the 
yellow  grain  to  wave  in  the  valleys,  and  the  snowy  flocks  to 
whiten  the  hills,  where,  before,  primeval  forests  had  stood  for 
successive  centuries?  We  cannot  but  admire  the  enterprise  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Ten-mile.  We  cannot  but  feel  a  kind  of 
veneration  for  the  men  who  conceived  and  executed  the  idea 
of  turning  this  wilderness  into  fruitful  fields. 

"  O  great  achievements  !  more  illustrious  far 
Those  triumphs,  than  the  bloody  wreaths  of  war." 

4.  The  history  of  the  Upper  Ten-mile  church  encourages 


39 

the  people  of  God  to  hope  and  to  be  faithful,  even  in  times  of 
darkness,  perplexity  and  trouble.  Think  of  this  congregation 
reduced,  by  a  storm  of  unparalleled  severity,  from  a  member- 
ship of  nearly  three  hundred  to  only  sewn,  yet  taking  refuge 
in  the  Divine  faithfulness,  strengthening  themselves  in  Abra- 
ham's God,  breasting  the  fury  of  the  tempest,  and  so,  in  due 
time,  through  faith  and  prayer  and  earnest  work,  beholding 
the  storm  pass  by,  the  sun  riding  serene  in  the  heavens,  and 
the  landscape  again  smiling  in  beauty  and  rruitfulness.  Look 
on  this  picture,  ye  timid,  faltering,  desponding  people  of  Cod, 
and  learn  a  lesson  of  hope  in  the  most  unhopeful  circumstances, 
and  a  lesson  of  fidelity  where  almosl  all  are  "faithless  found." 

5.  The  history  of  this  church  assures  us  that  where  there  is 
a  will  to  have  a  stated  ministry,  that  WILL  will  cither  rind  a 
way,  or  make  a  way,  to  sustain  it.  Recall  the  scene  at  Lind- 
lev's  Fort.  It  will  bear  study.  It  is  worthy  the  best  skill  of 
the  most  gifted  painter.  Behold  that  motley  group  of  men 
and  women!  A  solemn  stillness  reigns.  Deep  anxiety  sits  on 
every  feature.  A  grave  question  engages  their  thoughts. 
Can  they  secure  the  services  of  that  young  and  earnest 
preacher,  Thaddeus  Dod?  Can  they  give  him  a  living?  They 
are  few.  They  are  poor.  They  must  struggle  hard  to  live 
themselves.  They  have  no  money,  Whattodo?  Ah!  that  is 
a  happy  thought.  Lindley  has  a  mill,  and  will  contribute  the 
flour  to  Bupply  the  minister's  family.  Cook  will  find  the  meat. 
A.  B  and  C  will  give  the  wool,  the  flax,  the  potatoes.  The  work 
isdone.  Thepastor  is  secured.  And  that  little  company  return 
to  their  cabins  with  a  lighl  heart,  though  they  have  laid  a  fresh 
burden  on  their  own  shoulders,  and  return  to  toil  for  their 
minister  as  well  as  for  themselves.  Brethren,  the  lesson  is  in- 
structive. It  is  pertinent.  Take  it  to  your  hearts.  Listen  to 
its  monitory  voice.  Yield  to  its  power.  And  although  you 
scarcely  feel  able  to  pay  for  the  whole  time  and  labor  of  a  min- 
ister, think  how  much  less  was  the  ability  of  the  early  settlers, 
and  yet  how  courageously  and  uncomplainingly  they  bent  their 
necks  to  the  burden  ! 

6.  The  value  of  infant  baptism,  as  a  means  of  grace,  is  seen 
in  the  light  of  this  historical  review.     The  very  first  adminis- 


40 

tration  of  the  ordinance  in  this  congregation  was  attended  with 
saving  influences.  By  the  blessing  of  God,  it  produced  im- 
pressions on  one  little  boy  which  issued  in  his  conversion,  and 
ultimately  in  his  entrance  into  the  gospel  ministry.  Were  if 
not  for  the  Want  of  faith  in  God's  sure  covenant,  and  the  want 
of  fidelity  in  parental  instruction  and  training,  this  result 
would  oftener  follow.  Indeed,  it  would  become  the  general 
rule,  to  which  exceptions  would  rarely,  if  ever,  occur. 

7.  The  history  of  this  church  shows  the  worth  of  the  Cate- 
chism as  a  summary  of  Bible  truth,  and  the  importance  of 
early  and  thorough  instruction  therein.  So  long  as  the  Short- 
er Catechism  was  faithfully  taught  to  all  the  children,  the 
piety  of  the  church  was  deep,  vigorous  and  steadfast.  When 
the  practice  of  the  fathers  was  relaxed,  and  the  study  of  this 
unequaled  compend  fell  into  neglect,  the  church  became  an 
easy  prey  to  errorists.  Had  the  fidelity  of  the  sons  in  this 
work  been  equal  to  that  of  the  sires,  who  doubts  that  the 
divisive  measures  of  the  Cumberland  brethren  would  have  had 
a  far  different  issue  V  In  this  view,  let  me  congratulate  you 
on  the  happy  revival  of  catechetical  instruction.  The  precious 
doctrines,  drawn  from  the  Bible  and  embodied  in  the  Cate- 
chism, are  the  glory  and  the  life  of  the  church.  In  the  living- 
power  of  these  doctrines  must  our  children  be  reared,  if  any 
hope  is  to  be  entertained  that  the  piety  of  the  next  generation 
will  be  enlightened,  symmetrical,  vigorous  and  abiding. 

8.  The  great  importance  of  sound  doctrinal  knowledge, 
and,  to  this  end,  of  the  possession  and  mastery,  along  with  the 
Bible  and  Catechism,  of  at  least  a  few  standard  tractates  on 
practical  divinity,  plainly  appears  from  the  history  of  this 
church.  We  have  seen  that,  poor  as  our  fathers  were,  most  of 
them  had  in  their  cabins  a  little  book-shelf,  on  which  might  be 
found  such  standard  works  as  Fisher's  Catechism  and  Boston's 
Four-fold  State,  the  latter  of  which  was  once  happily  charac- 
terized by  a  young  convert,  found  to  be  intelligent  on  points 
of  Christian  doctrine,  though  otherwise  below  the  average 
grade  of  intellect,  as  "  a  book  that  begins  at  the  beginning 
and  carries  you  all  the  way  through."  Who  can  tell  how 
much  of  strength,  fervor  and  stability  was  thus  imparted  to 


41 

their  Christian  character?  Who  can  fully  estimate  the  influ- 
ence upon  piety  of  familiarity  with  the  whole  system  of  Bihle 
truth,  in  its  due  order  and  connection?  Be  not,  therefore,  of 
the  number  of  those  who  neglect  doctrinal  books,  or  complain 
of  doctrinal  preaching.  Faith,  hope,  spirituality,  zeal  and 
holiness,  all  live  upon  doctrine.  An  experience  without  doc- 
trine is  like  a  house  without  foundation,  a  body  without  bonesj 
or  a  tree  without  roots.  But  in  order  to  the  possession  of  doc- 
trinal knowledge,  the  perusal  of  books  treating  on  these  Bub- 

jecta  i-  uecessary.     From  such  1 ks  issue  streams  of  divine 

light,  which,  by  the  blessing  of  Grod,  become  the  vehicle  of 
converting,  sanctifying  and  saving  grace. 

9.  We  see,  in  the  Light  of  this  historical  sketch,  the  value 
and  the  blessedness  of  union  in  a  church.  So  Long  as  the 
members  of  this  congregation  stood  together,  they  stood  firmly. 
But  when  they  became  divided  and  contentious,  as  during  the 
ministry  of  Mi-.  Laughran,  their  strength  was  turned  into 
weakness.  With  their  own  hands  they  broke  down  their  in- 
closure,  and  laid  themselves  open  to  the  incursion  of  their 
foes;  and  from  that  moment  their  conquest  became  only  a 
question  of  time.  From  this  part  of  your  history  there  comes 
an  admonitory  voice,  to  which,  both  now  and  in  all  future 

time,  you  will  do  well  to  give  earne-t  heed. 

10.  The  history  of  our  Zion  shows  clearly  the  value  and 
importance  of  the  lay  talent  of  the  church,  and  how  service- 
able it  may  he  made  in  the  promotion  of  religion.  What  fur- 
ther proof  of  this  can  be  needed,  than  those  three  precious 
revivals  which  this  church  has  enjoyed,  without  the  presence 
or  cooperation  of  any  ministerial  Laborer?  Eappily,  the  glo- 
rious awakening  of  the  past  and  present  years(1858  and  1859) 
throughout  this  Land,  has  developed,  in  a  remarkable  and  un- 
precedented degree,  the  religious  life  and  activity  of  the  lay 
element  in  our  churches.  It  lias  shown  the  strength  and 
power  of  the  laity  for  good,  in  a  manner  and  to  an  extent 
scarcely  dreamed  of  before.  Brethren  of  the  eldership,  the 
deaconship,  and  the  private  membership  in  this  church,  seek, 
by  prayer  and  meditation,  to  be  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense 
of  your  personal  responsibility  in  this  matter.    Let  the  conver- 

6 


42 

8ion  of  sinners  become  with  3-011  an  object  of  intense  desire 
and  effort.  Make  it  the  fixed  purpose  of  your  soul,  by  God's 
blessing  on  your  endeavors,  to  save  souls.  Learn  to  cherish 
the  confident  hope  of  success  in  this  work.  The  -thing  is 
attainable.  It  can  be  done.  If  you  work,  God  will  work  with 
you.  You  need  not  go  to  heaven  alone.  You  may  bring 
sheaves  with  you. 

11.  The  history  of  this  church  teaches  you  to  love,  prize 
and  promote  genuine  revivals  of  religion.  On  the  fifteenth 
day  of  next  August,  it  will  be  seventy-eight  years  since  this 
church  was  organized.  During  this  period  it  has  enjoyed  not 
less  than  eighteen  to  twenty  special  outpourings  of  the  Spirit, 
or  about  an  average  of  one  to  every  four  years  of  its  existence. 
It  had  its  birth,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a  revival.  It  has  been 
baptized  into  the  spirit  of  revivals.  It  has  drawn  much  of  its 
spiritual  life  and  strength,  instrumentally,  from  revivals.  May 
it  ever  continue  to  cherish  genuine  revivals;  which,  to  name 
no  other  benefits  flowing  from  them,  are  so  needful  to  bring 
crowds  of  gifted  and  pious  young  men  into  the  gospel  minis- 
try, to  increase  the  liberality  of  the  church  in  the  support  of 
all  those  benevolent  institutions  which  have  been  well  called 
"the  seeds  of  the  millennium,"  and  to  speed  the  chariot-wheels 
of  salvation,  as  they  roll  on  to  the  conquest  of  a  world  and 
the  subjugation  of  its  revolted  provinces  to  the  triumphant 
and  glorious  reign  of  the  Redeemer  of  mankind. 

12.  The  history  of  this  church  (and  I  would  that  my  own 
relation  to  this  pulpit  were  different  in  giving  utterance  to  this 
thought,)  teaches  you  never  to  be  satisfied  with  an  incompetent 
or  unfaithful  ministry.  This  lesson  lies  upon  the  surface  of 
our  subject ;  and  I  need  not,  therefore,  enlarge  upon  it,  Only 
let  me  say  to  you  that,  while  you  ought  to  be  considerate  and 
forbearing  toward  your  ministers,  as  knowing  them  to  be  in 
the  flesh,  and  therefore  encompassed  with  infirmities,  yet  let 
not  affinity,  friendship,  sympathy  or  any  other  unworthy  mo- 
tive, "make  you  shrink  from  withdrawing  your  support  and 
confidence  from  such  as  do  not  preach  Christ  Jesus,  and  him 
crucified,  with  zeal  and  fervor,  and  labor,  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  to  win  souls  to  Christ," 


43 

13.  As  the  last  practical  issue  of  our  review,  I  was  about  to 
lav  upon  you  a  solemn  injunction,  and  to  utter  an  earnest 
exhortation,  that  you  imitate  the  faith,  self-denial,  zeal  and 
energy  of  your  forefathers  in  every  good  work;  hut  I  perceive, 
from  the  animated  and  resolute  expression  which  beams  on 
every  countenance,  that  this  lesson  has  already  entered  your 
mind  and  penetrated  to  your  heart.  I  therefore  withdraw  the 
hand,  and  leave  the  lesson,  by  its  own  inborn  power,  to  work 
itself  out  in  your  life. 

Brethren  of  Upper  Ten-mile  Church :  The  original  settlers 
within  the  bounds  of  this  congregation,  the  first  generation  of 
civilized  men  who  fixed  their  Beats  in  this  wilderness,  arc  gone 
without  an  exception.  The  second  generation  are  either  -one, 
or  are  bending  over  the  tomb.  Though  dead,  they  ye1  -peak. 
They  -all  to  us,  in  affectionate  and  admonitory  tones,  from 
these  graves  which  lie  so  thick  around  us.  In  a  most  impor- 
tant sense,  the  dead  are  present  with  us  to-day.  In  a  mosl 
important  sense,  they  -till  abide  with  the  living.  In  a  mosl 
important  sense,  they  are  at  once  dwellers  above  and  dwellers 
below.  They  linger  about  their  former  earthly  abode  in  hal- 
lowed associations,  in  purifying  and  quickening  influences,  in 
fragrant  and  precious  memories.  Their  spirit-  hover  over  us, 
and  their  affections  breathe  around  us.  The  eye  of  the  heart 
still  Bees  their  countenance  beaming  with  affection.     The  ear 

of    the    heart    >till    hears    their    Bolemn    words   of    counsel    and 

their  earnesl  exhortations  to  duty.    It  is  thus  that  the  departed 

and  glorified  dead,  from  those  supernal  heights  on  which  they 
sit  enthroned,  beckon  US,  the  living,  onward  and  upward,  to 
the  blot  regions  of  eternal  purity  and  peace;  the  shining 
abode  of  immortal  glory;  the  happy  seat  of  a  bliss  as  unsul- 
lied as  it  is  imperishable;  a  home  in  the  heavens,  as  pure, 
peaceful,  blessed  and  glorious,  as  infinite  goodness  and  al- 
mighty power  can  prepare.     Amen. 


A   CONVERSATION 


BECOMING 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHRIST: 


&  gattvitll  £ttmon, 


PREACHED    IX    THE 


CHURCH  OF  UPPER  TEN-MILE, 


MARCH    21,  1859. 


BY 

E  .    C  .  WINES,   D.I). 

PROFESSOR  IN  WASHINGTON  COLLEGE. 


IJtibtishrTJ  ln>  Brqursl. 


FAREWELL  SERMON. 


"Only  let  your  conversation  be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel  of  christ: 
that  whether  i  come  and  see  you,  or  else  be  absent,  i  may  hear  of  your 
affairs,  that  ye  stand  fast  in  one  spirit,  with  one  mind,  striving  togeth- 
er for  the  faith  of  the  gospel."  phil.  1:27. 

The  connection  between  a  minister  and  his  people  is  in  itself 
solemn  and  momentous,  and  it  is  for  solemn  and  momentous 
purposes.  As  such  a  connection  ought  not  to  be  lightly  formed, 
so  neither  should  it  be  lightly  dissolved.  The  dissolution  of 
the  relation  which  has  subsisted  between  us  for  a  number  of 
years,  has  not,  I  trust,  been  brought  about  for  unworthy  or 
unimportant  reasons.  As  these  reasons  are  already  known  to 
you,  I  need  not  stay  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  them  upon  the 
present  occasion.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  they  have  produced 
in  my  own  mind  an  intimate  conviction  of  the  propriety  of 
this  step ;  that  they  have  commended  themselves  to  my  breth- 
ren in  the  ministry ;  and  that  they  have,  as  I  feel  persuaded, 
won  the  respect  and  approval  of  my  own  people.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  heartfelt  satisfaction  and  devout  thanksgiving  to  God, 
that  the  sundering  of  this  tie  has  not  been  occasioned  by  any 
difficulty,  trouble  or  alienation  between  the  shepherd  and  the 
flock.  ]STothing  has  occurred,  in  the  course  of  my  ministry 
among  you,  to  disturb  our  union,  to  mar  our  fellowship,  or  to 
check  the  flow  of  mutual  sympathy  and  love ;  and  the  bond  of 
Christian  affection,  which  unites  the  hearts  of  pastor  and  peo- 
ple, is  brighter  and  stronger  to-day  than  it  has  ever  been  before. 
And  yet,  under  the  pressure  of  a  conviction  of  duty  on  my  part, 
we  meet  this  afternoon,  as  pastor  and  people,  for  the  last  time. 
We  shall,  indeed,  meet  again  in  this  relation  before  the  great 


48 

tribunal,  in  the  day  of  final  and  righteous  retribution ;  I  to 
give  an  account  of  my  ministry  among  you,  and  you  to  answer 
for  the  improvement  you  have  made  of  it.  But  now  we  part, 
to  meet  no  more  on  earth  in  the  interesting  and  tender  relation 
which  has  united  us  for  the  last  five  years.  How  often  have  we 
met  in  this  relation !  How  often  have  we  taken  sweet  counsel 
together  in  the  sanctuary,  in  the  place  of  social  prayer  and  in 
the  freer  communings  in  the  family  circle !  How  many  of  your 
children  have  I  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  triune  God !  How 
often  have  we  sat  together  around  the  sacramental  table,  and 
enjoyed  refreshing  foretastes  of  the  perfect  and  everlasting 
communion  of  the  saints  in  heaven !  How  often  have  I  stood 
in  this  pulpit,  filled  by  so  many  godly  men  before  me,  and 
here  instructed  and  warned  you,  held  forth  the  word  of  life  to 
you,  and  led  you  into  the  green  pastures  and  beside  the  quiet 
waters  of  gospel  ordinances !  This  I  have  done  as  your  pastor, 
as  one  to  whom  your  precious  souls  had  been  given  in  charge 
by  the  Head  of  the  church. 

But  all  this  will  probably  never  be  again.  The  work  which 
the  Master  had  for  me  to  do  among  you,  seems  now  to  be  fin- 
ished. Hence,  this  parting  scene.  Hence,  this  solemn  and 
tender  adieu.  Hence,  this  painful  sundering  of  a  bond  so  dear, 
so  strong,  so  cherished,  so  highly  prized,  so  much  delighted  in. 
This  is  the  last  time  I  can  expect  to  address  you,  or  you  to  listen 
to  me,  as  your  pastor.  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  to  suffer  pa- 
tiently and  to  receive  kindly  the  word  of  parting  counsel  and 
exhortation.  I  would  say  to  you,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  as 
the  apostle  did  to  his  beloved  Philippians  in  the  text:  "Only 
let  your  conversation  be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ  : 
that  whether  I  come  and  see  you,  or  else  be  absent,  I  may  hear 
of  your  affairs,  that  ye  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  in  one  spirit,  with 
one  mind,  striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel." 

The  word  conversation,  as  now  commonly  used,  denotes  the 
interchange  of  thought  by  speech.  Such,  however,  was  not 
its  ordinary  signification  at  the  time  when  our  translation  of 
the  Bible  was  made.  Such  is  not  its  meaning  in  our  text.  It 
signifies  behavior,  conduct,  the  general  tone  and  current  of 
the  life.     The  apostle's  injunction,  therefore,  might  be  para- 


49 

phrased  thus:  "Conduct  yourselves  in  a  manner  suitable  to 
the  gospel  of  Christ.  Let  your  faith  and  holiness  be,  in  all 
respects,  answerable  to  your  profession  of  the  religion  of  Jesus; 
so  that,  whether  coming  and  visiting  you,  I  may  see,  or  being 
absent  and  hearing  of  you,  I  may  learn  that  you  stand  fast  in 
one  spirit  and  mind,  striving  earnestly  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  gospel,  to  which  the  living  worthily  of  it  will  not  a  little 
contribute." 

Three  things  the  apostle  specifies,  which  he  desired  to  see 
in  the  Philippians,  or  to  hear  concerning  them,  as  being  agree- 
able to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  viz.  steadfastness,  union  and  zeal 
in  maintaining  the  doctrines  and  advancing  the  influence  of 
religion.  However,  in  describing  a  conversation  answerable 
to  the  gospel,  we  need  not  confine  ourselves  to  these  particular 
qualities,  since  a  complete  Christian  character  embraces  many 
others.  The  text,  therefore,  affords  legitimate  ground  for 
whatever  godly  counsels  in  reference  to  Christian  conduct  a 
minister  may  sec'  lit  to  addresa  to  his  people.  And  it  seems 
peculiarly  appropriate  to  such  an  occasion  as  the  present,  an 
occasion  lull  of  tender  memories  of  the  past  and  tender  anxi- 
eties for  the  future. 

To  exhibit  in  outline  (for  the  time  is  too  brief  to  admit  of 
much  detail,)  a  conversation  becoming  the  gospel  of  Christ,  to 
point  out  some  of  the  particulars  wherein  your  behavior,  both 
as  a  church  and  as  individuals,  should  he  answerable  to  the 
religion  which  you  profess,  is  the  design  of  this  valedictory 
discourse. 

1.  A  conversation  becoming  the  gospel  of  Christ  requires 
that  you  he  fruitful  Christians.  "Herein  is  my  Father  glori- 
fied, that  ye  hear  much  fruit."  The  glory  of  a  husbandman 
does  not  arise  from  his  fields  and  vineyards  bearing  fruit,  but 
from  their  bearing  much  fruit.  Their  yielding  little  fruit 
rather  dishonors,  than  honors  him.  So  it  is  in  spiritual  hus- 
bandly. A  little  religion  often  dishonors  God  more  than  no 
religion.  A  spirit  that  halts  between  God  and  the  world, 
now  seeming  to  be  on  one  side  and  now  on  the  other,  causes 
his  name  to  be  evil  spoken  of  more  than  the  excesses  of  irre- 
ligion.      This  explains  our  Lord's  address   to  the  church  of 

7 


50 

Laoclicea :  "  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot."  When  our  Saviour 
declared  that  his  Father's  glory  would  he  promoted  by  abun- 
dant fruitfulness,  he  added,  "So  shall  ye  be  my  disciples,"  in- 
timating that  we  are  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  Christ's 
disciples,  unless  we  bear  much  fruit.  He  was,  indeed,  a  fruit- 
ful bough,  a  plant  of  renown,  loaded  with  the  richest  clusters. 
His  whole  life  abounded  with  fruits  of  righteousness.  You 
should  either  imitate  his  example,  or  forego  the  Christian  name. 

2.  A  conversation  becoming  the  gospel  of  Christ  demands 
that  vou  let  your  light  shine  before  men.  "  Ye  are  the  light 
of  the  world."  This  implies  that  the  world,  despite  all  its  at- 
tainments in  science  and  literature  and  its  loud  boast  of  phil- 
osophical illumination,  is  in  darkness  still.  It  implies  that  all 
the  true  light  in  it  proceeds  from  Jesus  Christ.  True,  our 
Lord  says  that  his  disciples  are  the  light  of  the  world.  But 
all  their  light  is  borrowed  from  him.  He,  as  the  sun,  shines 
with  an  original,  unborrowed  and  supreme  lustre ;  they,  as 
the  moon  and  planets,  deriving  their  light  from  him,  retlect 
it  on  the  world.  As  professed  disciples  of  Christ,  all  eves  are 
drawn  toward  you,  all  regards  are  fixed  upon  you.  Your 
principles,  your  profession  and  your  walk,  are  closely  scanned. 
Your  faults,  even  more  than  your  virtues,  are  observed  and 
marked.  [Nor,  upon  the  whole,  is  it  desirable  that  it  should 
be  otherwise.  Light  ought  not  to  be  hid,  but  diffused  abroad 
for  the  good  of  those  around.  On  this  account,  you  should  be 
concerned  to  let  your  light  shine  before  men  ;  not  by  an  osten- 
tatious display  of  supposed  excellencies,  but  by  a  practical  ex- 
hibition of  the  nature  and  power  of  the  gospel.  It  is  not  by 
words  only,  but  much  more  by  works,  that  gospel  light  is  con- 
veyed to  the  consciences  of  men.  Shine,  then,  beloved  Chris- 
tians, in  the  light  of  a  holy  life.  Shine  constantly — in  every 
place,  in  every  state,  in  every  relation ;  letting  your  light  go 
out  neither  in  the  day  of  prosperity  nor  in  the  night  of  adver- 
sity. Shine  increasingly ;  gaining  more  and  more  victory 
over  darkness,  till  you  attain  to  the  unmixed  and  perfect  light 
of  heaven.  Remember  that  if  you  would  shine  in  glory 
above,  you  must  shine  in  holiness  below. 

3.  Your  conversation  will  not  be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  unless  you  aim  after  eminent  degrees  of  holiness. 


51 

'•As  he  which  hath  called  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation."  Holiness  is  God's  image  in  his 
children.  The  more  they  have  of  it,  the  more  like  they  are 
to  their  Father.  Be  not  content  with  Low  degrees,  with  scanty 
measures.  Aspire  toward  perfection.  He  who  aims  high, 
will  shoot  the  higher,  though  he  may  not  reach  the  mark. 
Therefore,  aim  high  at  self-renunciation,  self-denial,  self-vic- 
tory, self-consecration.  Set  the  state  of  perfection  in  your 
eye.  Strive  after  that.  Rest  QOl  satisfied  with  any  lower 
degree.  Be  ever  advancing  toward  it.  Come  as  near  to  it 
as  you  can.  Eminent  holiness  is  a  treasure  of  riches,  a  crown 
of  honor,  the  perfection  of  man's  nature,  the  earnest  of  glory, 
the  vestibule  of  heaven. 

4.  Eeavenly-mindedness  is  a  branch  of  the  conversation  that 
becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ.  " Let  your  conversation  he  in 
heaven."  The  Scriptures  greatly  recommend  this  grace.  They 
exhorl  Christians  to  regard  themselves  as  strangers  upon  the 
earth,  mere  sojourners  in  a  foreign  clime;  to  he  dead  to  the 
world;  and  to  consider  their  true  life  as  hid  with  Christ  in 
Gfcod.  Learn,  therefore,  my  6eloved  brethren,  to  look  upon 
the  body  as  a  tabernacle,  a  mere  temporary  habitation,  soon  to 
he  taken  down,  ami  laid  in  the  dust.  Look  for  a  house  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  Strive  to  master  the 
lesson  that  blessed  Paul  had  Learned,  to  groan  under  the  burden 
of  the  flesh,  earnestly  desiring  to  he  clothed  upon  with  your 
house  which  i>  from  heaven,  and  willing  rather  to  he  absent  from 
the  body  and  present  with  the  Lord.     Look  ami  Long  and  sigh 

for  the  hour  when  you  shall  come  and  appear  before  him  :  the 
hour  when  you  shall  receive  the  purchase  of  your  Saviour,  the 
fruit  of  your  prayers,  the  harvest  of  your  toils,  the  end  of 
your  faith,  the  salvation  of  your  souls.  Alas!  what  do  you 
here?  This  is  not  your  home.  This  is  not  your  rest.  Your 
treasure  is  in  heaven.  Let  your  heart  be  in  heaven  also. 
Learn  to  mount  up  on  the  wings  of  meditation  and  prayer. 
Let  the  eye  of  faith  he  ever  upward.  Dwell  above  in  your 
believing  meditations  of  your  future  rest.  Daily  bathe  your 
soul  in  the  sweet  thought  of  your  blessed,  glorious,  eternal 
home  in  heaven.  Be  familiar  with  the  saints  who  have  gone 
before  you;  who  have  put  off  the  robe  of  mortal  flesh;  who 


52 

are  clothed  in  glory;  who  are  swallowed  up  of  immortality 
and  life ;  who  have  run  their  race,  received  their  crown,  and 
are  made  equal  with  the  angels. 

5.  A  gospel  conversation  requires  that  yon  carefully  watch 
over  your  spirit,  and  scrutinize  your  heart.  Our  Saviour  says, 
"What  I  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all,  watch."  Paul  adds  an 
injunction  of  no  less  hreadth,  "Examine  yourselves."  These 
counsels  of  divine  wisdom  are  well  suited  to  our  state  and 
necessity.  Self- watchfulness  and  self-scrutiny  are  duties  of 
prime  importance.  We  live  in  a  world  of  snares  and  enemies. 
We  are  heset  by  dangers  on  every  side.  Who  can  fathom  the 
temptations  of  a  practiced  veteran  in  the  arts  of  ruin,  like 
Satan?  Who  can  comprehend  the  insidious  blandishments  of 
a  false  hut  flattering  world?  Who  can  understand  even  his 
own  errors,  his  deceived  and  deceiving  lusts  ?  Who  is  able 
to  meet  and  overcome  these  manifold  and  innumerable  perils? 
What,  in  such  a  case,  is  best  suited  to  our  character  and  con- 
dition ?  I  answer,  vigilance,  a  mind  in  arms,  the  discipline  of 
a  wakeful  and  untiring  self-observation.  Nor  is  a  conscien- 
tious and  discriminating  self-scrutiny  less  necessary.  Every 
man  is  naturally  a  self-flatterer.  Were  this  not  so,  the  flatter- 
ies of  others  would  have  less  effect  upon  us.  Hence  arises  the 
necessity  of  earnest  self-inspection.  My  brethren,  be  not  slight 
and  careless  and  irregular  in  this  duty.  Let  never  a  day  pass 
without  calling  yourselves  to  account.  Nor  let  this  examina- 
tion be  of  the  external  conduct  merely;  let  it  be  much  more 
of  the  internal  state.  What  is  inward  is  far  more  important, 
far  more  deserving  of  your  attention,  far  more  decisive  of 
character,  than  what  is  outward.  It  is  in  the  inner  man  that 
the  essence  of  what  is  right  and  wrong  dwells.  Therefore,  no 
self-examination  can  be  effective,  which  does  not  descend  into 
the  depths  of  the  soul,  and  stay  long  enough  to  inspect  what 
is  there.  Moreover,  when  you  examine  yourselves,  endeavor 
to  have  your  soul  possessed  with  a  solemn  sense  of  the  judg- 
ment of  God.  Say  to  yourself,  "  What  does  the  all-seeing  eye 
detect  in  me?"  In  that  awful  presence,  pretensions,  semblan- 
ces, flatteries,  disguises,  unrealities  of  every  name,  vanish  like 
the  mists  of  the  morning  before  the  rising  sun. 

0.  That  your  conversation  may  be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel 


53 

of  Christ,  give  yourselves  much  unto  prayer.  How  full  are 
the  Scriptures  on  this  point!  "Pray  without  ceasing."  "Ask, 
and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you."  "The  effectual,  fervent 
prayer  of  the  righteous  man.  availeth  much."  This  is  as  true 
now  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Elijah,  Daniel  or  James.  Pray- 
ing breath  is  never  spent  in  vain.  God  is  the  fountain  of  all 
good.  Yet  he  will  he  sought  unto  for  his  blessing.  Pray 
much  unto  him.  Pray  in  secret.  Tray  in  the  family.  Pray 
in  the  social  meeting.  Pray  amid  the  hours  of  business. 
Humbly,  fervently,  importunately,  and  in  full  assurance  of 
faith,  call  upon  God.  Especially,  forsake  net  the  assembling 
of  yourselves  together  for  this  purpose.  Keep  up  your  prayer 
meetings,  nor  let  them  languish  through  your  lack  of  zeal. 
There  is  much  encouragement  to  pray.  God  has  done  --rent 
things  in  answer  to  prayer.  When  Israel  groaned  beneath  the 
bondage  of  Egypt,  they  cried  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  came 
down  to  deliver  them.  When  Judah  groaned  beneath  Babel's 
yoke.  Daniel  set  his  face  in  prayer,  three  times  a  day,  toward 
Jerusalem;  and  God's  conduct  toward  Pharaoh  and  his  host 
was  acted  over  again  toward  Belshazzar  and  his  armies.  God 
has  made  great  promises  to  prayer.  Take  hold  of  these  prom- 
ises in  your  approaches  to  him.  Tt  is  just  this  taking  hold  of 
the  promises,  which  constitutes  the  prayer  of  faith.  "Every 
one  that  asketh,"  says  the  Saviour,  "receiveth."  This  sounds 
like  a  challenge  to  the  whole  world  to  find  an  instance  of  a 
suppliant  perishing  at  the  throne  of  grace,  or  of  a  petition 
ottered  in  the  faith  of  .lesus  falling  to  the  -round.  Such  an 
instance  cannot  lie  produced  out  of  all  the  ages. 

7.  A  conversation  answerable  to  the  gospel  of  Christ  re- 
quires that  you  should,  in  all  thingB,  >eek  to  glorify  God. 
"Whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do.  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God."  Your  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God.  God  is 
glorified,  when  we  have  just  thoughts  concerning  him.  lie  i.s 
glorified,  when  we  are  filled  with  admiration,  esteem  and  love 
in  our  contemplations  of  him.  lie  is  glorified,  when  we  speak 
reverently  of  him.  lie  is  glorified  by  our  obeying  his  laws, 
and  walking  closely  and  affectionately  with  him.  But  most 
oi'  all  is  he  glorified  by  our  believing  on  his  Son,  and  so  be- 
coming reconciled  to  him  through  his  death.      Keep  contin- 


54 

ually  in  memory  that  it  is  the  main  business  of  your  life  to 
glorify  God.  Learn  that  lesson  well.  Every  morning,  re- 
member that  serving  God  is  the  whole  business  of  the  day, 
and  therefore  begin  the  day  with  the  express  design  of  hon- 
oring him  in  your  eating,  drinking,  visiting,  conversing  and 
all  the  duties  of  your  calling.  Thus  you  will  be  continually 
laying  up  for  heaven.  Your  secular  duties  will  be  sanctified 
and  made  religious  duties  by  a  holy  end.  Thus  will  you  be 
furthering  your  spiritual  account,  even  when  engaged  about 
your  worldly  business.  In  your  buying,  selling,  plowing,  sow- 
ing, reaping,  teaching,  prescribing  for  the  sick,  and  perform- 
ing all  the  other  duties  of  your  calling,  you  will  be  serving 
God  and  preparing  for  heaven  as  really  as  when  engaged  in 
strictly  religious  duties.  Learn,  therefore,  to  do  for  spiritual 
ends  what  others  do  for  natural  or  prudential  ends.  Then 
God  will  put  it  to  your  account  as  so  much  done  for  him. 
And  rest  assured  that,  on  the  one  hand,  whatever  is  done  for 
God  will  meet  a  glorious  reward;  and,  on  the  other,  what- 
ever is  not  done  for  him  is  but  so  much  labor  thrown  away. 
That  man  is  most  a  Christian,  who  most  seeks  and  finds  his 
happiness  in  glorifying  God. 

8.  A  conversation  becoming  the  gospel  of  Christ  demands 
that  you  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "Put  ye  on  the  Lord 
.Jesus  Christ."  Christ  is  the  proper  vestment  of  a  Christian; 
his  brightest  ornament ;  his  chief  beauty;  Put  on  Christ  by 
faith;  be  clothed  with  him  as  your  righteousness.  Put  on  the 
mind  of  Christ;  let  his  thoughts  and  judgments  concerning 
sin,  holiness,  the  gospel,  the  world,  time  and  eternity,  be 
yours.  Put  on  Christ  as  your  sanctification  ;  strive  after  a 
similitude  to  him  in  graces,  and  in  all  the  acts  of  holy  living. 
The  very  essence  of  religion  is  to  be  like  him  whom  we  wor- 
ship. Study  Christ  much.  Eye  him  constantly.  Make  the 
impression  of  his  image  in  your  soul  deeper  and  clearer  by 
each  day's  meditation.  Oh,  it  is  sweet  to  be  growing  more 
Christ-like  every  day.  What  are  riches  and  honors  and 
pleasures,  what  are  even  crowns  and  sceptres  and  kingdoms, 
compared  with  this?  Put  on  Christ,  then,  more  and  more. 
Live  more  to  Christ.  Live  more  on  Christ.  Live  more  in 
Christ.     Learn  to  look  upon  yourselves  as  representatives  of 


Christ.  Learn  to  live  as  representatives  of  him.  Whatever 
you  are  engaged  in,  say  to  yourself,  "  How  would  Christ  bear 
himself  in  this  business?  Even  so  let  me  endeavor  to  dis- 
charge it."  Thus  it  will  not  be  so  much  you  that  live,  as 
Christ  living  in  you.  Tims  will  his  life  be  reproduced  in 
yours. 

9.  A  gospel  conversation  requires  that  you  keep  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  day  ever  in  your  view.  "God  Lath  ap- 
pointed a  day.  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world."  <  >ne  of 
the  early  Christian  father-  used  to  say,  ••  I  seem  always  to  he 
hearing  the  words,  '  Awake,  ye  dead,  and  come  to  judgment.' "' 
Do  you,  also,  my  hearers,  anticipate,  in  thought,  the  last  day, 
and  place  yourselves  often  before  the  great  tribunal.  Ami 
remember  that  professions,  though  often  and  earnestly  made, 
will  avail  you  nothing  there.  -Not  >'\i-vy  one  that  Baith  unto 
me,  Lord.  Lord."  True  godliness  is  the  only  thing  that  will 
he  approved  in  that  day.  Not  what  we  say,  hut  what  we  do 
and  what  we  are,  will  be  on  trial  then.  NTothing  will  stand 
the  tesl  of  that  day.  hut  what  is  inward  and   heart-felt.      Mere. 

holiness  is  iA'  hut  little  account:  wealth,  fame  and  shining; 
talents  win  the  day.  There,  the  meanest  Christian  will  be 
approved,  while  the  most  eloquent  preacher,  who  has  lived  in 
Bin,  will  he  cast  out. 

k».  a  conversation  agreeable  to  the  gospel  of  Christ  de- 
mands of  you,  a-  a  church,  to  avoid  Btrife,  and  to  live  in  love 
and  peace.  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  "If  you 
would  see  good  days,  seek  peace  and  ensue  it."  A  divided 
people  is  ever  an  uuprosperous  people.  A  contention-  spirit, 
a  hasty  spirit,  a  spirit  of  slander  ami  detraction,  an  officious, 
intermeddling  spirit,  is  the  very  opposite  of  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel.  Such  a  spirit  tends,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  drive 
away  God's  spirit  from  a  people,  to  render  all  the  means  of 
grace  ineffectual,  and  to  destroy  the  outward  comfort  and  wel- 
fare of  a  congregation.  Strive,  therefore,  to  have  one  heart 
and  mind  as  Christians.  Let  your  sympathies,  your  desires, 
your  prayers,  your  counsels  and  your  efforts  mingle  together. 
Such  a  harmony  of  hearts  is  a  pleasant  melody  in  the  ear  of 
God,  and  a  mosl  effectual  means  of  obtaining  his  blessing. 
When  the  early  Christians  "were  together  with  one  accord 


56 

and  one  mind,"  "the  Lord  added  to  the  church."  Union  was 
a  fountain  of  growth.  Satan's  maxim  is,  "Divide  and  con- 
quer." Let  yours  he,  "In  union  we  .are  invincible."  Sin 
divided  man  from  God,  and  men  from  one  another.  Christ's 
work  on  earth  was  to  re-unite  them,  as  he  sa}-s  in  his  inter- 
cessory prayer,  "that  they  all  ma}'  he  one."  Heaven  is  a 
place  of  perfect  love,  and  the  nearest  approach  to  it  on  earth 
is  through  the  cultivation  of  heavenly  affection.  Love  is  a 
most  powerful  and  transforming  agent.  It  is  the  cement 
which  binds  the  whole  spiritual  edifice  together,  and  makes 
it  firm  and  durable. 

11.  A  conversation  suitable  to  the  gospel  of  Christ  requires 
that  you  guard  against  the  encroachments  of  error,  and  seek 
to  maintain  purity  in  the  doctrine,  discipline  and  polity  of  the 
church.  To  this  the  text  expressly  exhorts  you :  "  Stand  fast, 
....  striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel."  You 
are  not  only  Christians,  but  Presbyterian  Christians.  You 
believe  that  the  doctrine,  polity  and  worship  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  are  more  scriptural,  more  truly  primitive  and 
apostolic,  more  in  accordance  with  the  simplicity  that  is  in 
Christ,  than  those  of  any  other  religious  system.  While, 
therefore,  you  do  not  condemn  others,  but  leave  them  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  their  Christian  liberty,  yet,  believing  that 
Presbyterianism  is  more  agreeable  to  the  word  of  Cod  than 
any  other  system,  3-011  are  in  duty  bound  to  maintain  it  and 
teach  it  to  your  children.  Undoubtedly,  Christians  should 
cherish  largeness  of  heart.  Undoubtedly,  they  should  pray 
for  all,  and  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of  all,  who  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  Yet  you  owe  a  special  duty  to 
your  own  church.  You  owe  such  special  duty,  first,  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  general,  and  then,  in  a  more  restricted 
sense,  to  the  particular  church  of  which  you  are  a  member. 
You  are  bound,  as  a  general  thing,  to  be  always  in  your  place 
in  this  sanctuary;  and  that,  whether  you  have  a  minister  or 
not.  In  some  respects,  it  is  more  your  duty,  certainly  it  is 
more  important,  when  you  are  without  a  stated  ministry. 
JSTor  is  it  any  abridgment  of  your  proper  liberty  to  be  obliged 
to  attend  here.  It  is  at  once  a  sin  and  a  curse  to  have  itching 
ears.     That  soul  will  never  prosper  which  is  continually  wan 


& 


57 

dering  hither  and  thither.  Beware,  also,  of  a  relaxed  discip- 
line. As  an  army  without  order  cannol  stand  its  ground,  so 
neither  can  a  church.  The  church  at  Ephesus  was  commend- 
ed because  "she  could  not  bear  them  that  were  evil."  Stand 
fast  here.  What  you  want,  what  every  church  wants,  is  not 
men  simply,  but  effective  men  :  men  of  hearty  and  earnest 
piety;  men  whose  hearts,  and  hands,  and  prayers  are  with 
yon.  As  dead  branches  hurt  the  fruitfulness  of  a  tree,  so  do 
dead  members  impair  the  strength  of  a  church. 

1:!.  Family  order  and  household  religion  arc  an  important 
part  of  a  conversation  becoming  tin'  gospel  of  Christ.  "As 
forme  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord.'"  A  Christian 
family  is  a  nursery  of  the  church.  There  tin-  seed  of  saving 
truth  is  ordinarily  sown.  There  the  firsl  principles  of  saving 
religion  are  commonly  instilled.  The  counsels,  the  prayers 
and  the  example  of  ;i  godly  parent  make  ;i  deep  impression 
upon  the  mind.  A  right  family  training  is  a  chief  means  of 
grace.  Parental  influence  must  be  great,  for  it  is  God's  ordi- 
nance that  it  shall  be.  The  opinions,  the  spirit,  the  conversa- 
tion, the  counsels,  the  manners,  the  wry  looks  and  torn 
the  parent  influence  the  child.  They  are  reproduced  in  him. 
Whatever  sort  of  person  the  parent  i-.  such  commonly  the 
child  will  I.e.  Yon  may  not.  therefore,  stand  reasoning  and 
calculating.  God  has  ordained  that  you  shall  have  influence 
over  your  child.  Such  is  the  fact ;  Buch  is  the  divine  decree; 
ami  you  cannot  change  it.  Therefore,  use  diligence  in  thin 
matter.  Ami  he  not  too  easily  discouraged  by  seeming  fail- 
ares.  A  drop  of  water  has  no  apparent  influence  on  the  rock. 
But  it  has  influence,  nevertheless;  for,  by  its  continual  falling, 
it  will  in  the  end  wear  its  way  through.  Your  hearts  will  be 
ready  to  faint  in  this  work,  and  t«»  say.  "itcan  never  be  done." 
Indeed,  it  cannot  he  done  by  your  own  wisdom  or  strength. 
The  work  is  God's.  But  for  that  very  reason  yon  need  not  be 
discouraged.  You  may  trust  in  divine  power,  when  yon  can 
hope  in  nothing  else.  Cast  your  bread  npon  the  waters.  After 
you  have  been  in  your  grave  a  quarter  of  a  century,  your  son 
may  remember  what  you  have  said  to  him,  and  turn  to  God; 
and  you  may.  as  the  fruit  of  your  parental  fidelity,  welcome  to 


your  heavenly  home  the  child  whom  you  had  thought  irrecov- 
erably lost. 

13.  It  is  an  essential  branch  of  a  gospel  conversation  to  be 
systematic  and  liberal  in  your  benevolent  gifts.  "Remember 
the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said  unto  you,  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  And  still  more,  remember 
the  example  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  who  though  he  was  rich,  yet 
for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we,  through  his  poverty, 
might  be  rich."  Giving  is  as  much  a  part  of  religion  as  pray- 
ing; and  the  one  can  as  little  be  dispensed  with  as  the  other. 
The  same  high  authority  that  said,  "pray  without  ceasing," 
said  also,  "let  every  one  lay  by  him  in  store."  But  I  will  not 
now  stay  to  repeat  what  I  have  so  often  said  before  on  this 
subject.  Only  let  me  earnestly  recommend  that  you  persevere 
in  the  excellent  plan  of  systematic  benevolence,  which  you 
have  inaugurated  with  such  encouraging  success.  Beware  of 
considering  what  you  give  to  God  as  so  much  subtracted  from 
your  own  stores.  "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  increaseth." 
Remember  what  occurred  between  a  king  of  Judah  and  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord.  "And  Amaziah  said  to  the  man  of  God, 
But  what  shall  we  do  for  the  hundred  talents  which  I  have  given 
to  the  army  of  Israel?  And  the  man  of  God  answered,  The 
Lord  is  able  to  give  thee  much  more  than  this."  2  Chron.  25: 9. 
Beware  of  saying  or  thinking,  what  shall  I  do  for  the  one 
dollar,  or  the  five  dollars  I  am  asked  to  give  to  the  cause  of 
missions  ?  The  Lord  can  make  it  up  to  you.  What  though  you 
do  not  know  how  God  can  or  will  return  into  your  bosom  all 
that  you  give  to  his  cause,  and  even  add  thereunto  double  ? 
Presume  not  to  limit,  even  in  thought,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
God's  resources  both  of  wisdom  and  of  power  are  infinite. 
No  man  was  ever  yet  made  poorer  by  lending  unto  the  Lord. 

14.  Zeal  for  the  Lord  and  his  cause  is  au  essential  element 
of  a  conversation  answerable  to  the  gospel  of  Christ.  "It  is 
good  to  be  zealously  affected  always  in  a  good  thing."  Zeal  is 
an  ardent  affection  of  the  mind.  It  comes  from  a  word  which 
signifies  to  burn.  Zeal  is  that  ardor  of  mind  which  prompts 
lis  to  pursue  an  undertaking  with  earnestness  and  persever- 
ance. To  justify  this  ardor,  the  object  of  pursuit  must  be 
good  in  itself,  and  its  magnitude  proportioned  to  the  effort 


59 

required  to  gain  it.  Both  these  conditions  concur  here.  If 
religion  is  worth  anything,  it  is  worth  everything.  Let  your 
zeal,  then,  be  ardent,  intelligent,  steady,  active.  Let  the  zeal 
of  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs  and  confessors,  provoke  yours, 
so  that  it  shall  name  with  a  constantly  increasing  brightness 
and  intensity. 

15.  A  conversation  becoming  the  gospel  requires  that  yon 
endeavor  after  constant  growth.  "Desire  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby."  The  object  proposed 
here  is  not  enjoyment,  or  even  knowledge;  hut  growth,  in- 
crease of  grace,  progress  in  sanctification.  To  teach  us  the 
necessity  of  ur< >\\tli  in  believers,  they  are  compared  to  things 
that  grow;  t<»  trees  planted  by  the  water  courses:  to  cedars  in 
Lebi l;  to  the  morning  light;  to  infants  at  the  breast.  En- 
deavor after  this  spiritual  growth  continually.  Strive  to  in- 
crease in  holiness.     Labor  to  have  the  graces  of  the  Spiril 

growing  Stronger  in  the  soul,  and  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  more 

and  more  abounding  in  the  life.  You  find  pleasure  in  seeing 
your  children  grow;  you  love  well  to  see  your  estates  grow; 
you  rejoice  greatly  when  your  honors  grow.  But  how  poor  and 
base  are  such  delights,  compared  with  the  happiness  of  grow- 
ingintoa  likeness  to  your  Saviour;  of  finding  pride  ami  world- 
liness  abating,  and  faith,  love  and  spirituality  increasing.  This 
growth  is  not  like  that  of  our  natural  life,  which  is  often  nip- 
ped in  the  hud,  like  the  early  flowers  of  spring.  It  is  ;i  growth 
which,  though  it  meets  with  many  checks  and  interruptions, 
nevertheless  holds  on  in  whomsoever  it  is  begun,  till  it  reaches 
its  full  maturity;  and  after  that,  there  i-  u<>  decay,  no  old  age, 
no  death;  hut  immortal  life,  perpetual  youth,  eternal  spring,  a 
joy  as  lasting  as  it  is  divine. 

16.  Another  element  in  a  conversation  becoming  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  and  the  last  that  I  shall  notice,  is  steadfastness. 
v-  Stand  fast  in  one  spirit."  All  the  other  elements  of  ( Jhristian 
character  are  of  little  account  without  this:  for  a  "double- 
minded  man" — a  man  of  doubtful,  unsettled,  wavering  mind, 
"is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  It  is  a  main  thing  in  religion 
to  have  the  heart  fixed  :  firm  in  its  resolution,  constant  in  its 
desires.  David  could  say,  "My  heart  is  fixed.  ( >  God,  my  heart 
is  fixed."     Raptures  in  religion  signify  little  ;  hut  a  holy  fixed- 


60 

ness  of  soul  is  of  inestimable  worth.  Steadfastness  is  emi- 
nently suitable  to  the  gospel.  It  is  a  dishonor  to  religion, 
when  its  professed  friends  are  unfixed  in  their  minds  and  wa- 
vering in  their  affections.  Unstable  as  water,  such  Christians 
will  never  excel.  They  who  would  strive  for  the  faith  of  the 
gospel,  and  further  its  victorious  power  in  themselves  and  others, 
must  stand  firm  to  it. 

And  now,  having  given  these  general  counsels,  I  would  ad- 
dress a  few  special  exhortations  to  several  distinct  classes  of 
persons. 

1.  I  won  Id  say  a  word  to  the  Ruling  Elders.  Beloved  breth- 
ren, one  of  the  pleasantest  memories  I  shall  bear  away  with 
me  will  be  that  of  my  official,  as  well  as  personal  intercourse 
with  you.  That  intercourse  has  been  always  frank,  cordial, 
confiding,  affectionate,  delightful ;  "  our  souls  by  love  together 
knit,  cemented,  mixed  in  one."  I  have  ever  found  in 
you  wise  counselors  and  ready  helpers.  I  cannot  recall 
a  single  difference  of  opinion,  that  has  ever  arisen  among 
us,  or  any  thing  to  mar  the  perfect  harmony  of  our  official  ac- 
tion, or  to  produce  the  least  jar  in  our  personal  relations.  It 
has  happened,  in  the  course  of  my  ministry  among  this  people, 
that  I  have  felt  it  my  duty  to  propose  many  things  to  your 
consideration,  some  of  them  involving  changes  in  established 
usage  of  no  small  magnitude  ;  but  it  has  been  my  happiness, 
in  every  one  of  them,  to  receive  from  you  a  prompt  approval 
and  a  cordial  and  efficient  cooperation.  Xowthat  this  pleasant 
communion  of  counsels  and  of  sympathies  is  come  to  an  end, 
and  I  am  taking  leave  of  }tou,  let  me  say  to  you,  in  the  words 
of  Paul's  farewell  sermon  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  "Take 
heed  to  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  church  of  God, 
which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood."  Remember 
that  dignity  evermore  involves  duty.  Hince  the  Holy  Ghost 
lias  made  you  overseers  of  the  flock  of  Christ,  see  that  you  be 
faithful  to  the  high  trust  thus  imposed  upon  you. 

2.  Brethren  of  the  Deaconship,  bear  with  me  in  the  utterance 
of  two  or  three  parting  sentences  to  you.  You  are  but  young 
in  this  office,  three  of  you  having  been  ordained  in  October 
last,  and  one  this  very  afternoon.     Your  office  is  a  scriptural 


61 

one,  since  it  was  indubitably  established  by  apostolic  authority, 
and  as  indubitably  intended  to  be  a  permanent  institution  of 
the  church  of  Christ.  So  our  General  Assembly  views  the 
matter,  having  repeatedly  enjoined  upon  the  churches  the  ap- 
pointment of  deacons.  This  church  never  complied  with  the 
injunction,  till  last  summer.  The  special  occasion,  at  that 
time,  was  the  adoptioo  by  the  congregation  of  a  plan  of  syste- 
matic benevolence,  the  efficient  working  of  which,  it  was 
judged,  demanded  the  agency  of  deacons.  To  this  delicate 
and  responsible  trust  you  have  been  chosen  by  the  voice  of  the 
church.  The  field  of  Christian  effort,  to  which  von  have  thus 
been  called,  is  one  winch  may  well  call  into  requisition  the 
best  talent  of  the  church.  You  will  need,  for  tin1  due  discharge 
of  your  official  duties,  a  rare  combination  of  moderation,  pru- 
dence, knowledge  of  men  and  hu>ines>.  disinterestedness, 
zeal,  wisdom  and  piety.  These  \'>u  must  seek  by  prayer,  holy 
living,  the  study  of  God's  word,  and  a  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  religious  condition  <>f  the  world  and  the  benevolent 
operations  of  the  church.  Yon  are  appointed  to  superintend, 
collect,  and.  in  conjunction  with  the  ruling  elders,  to  manage 
the  charities  of  the  faithful  in  this  congregation,  it  belongs 
to  your  office  to  circulate  information,  to  correct  misapprehen- 
sion, to  answer  objections,  to  stimulate  the  sluggish,  to  encou- 
rage the  faint  hearted,  to  go  before  the  people  yourselves  in 
Christian  Liberality,  and,  in  short,  to  take  a  chief  agency  in 
erecting  an  elevated  standard  of  Christian  benevolence  in  this 
community.  It'  you  use  the  office  of  a  deacon  well,  you  will, 
l>v  God's  blessiner,  nor  only  advance  the  cause  of  Christ  among1 
this  people  and  throughout  the  world,  bu1  you  will,  at  the  same 
time,  purchase  to  yourselves  a  good  degree  and  great  bold- 
ness in  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  Brethren,  la-loved 
in  thi'  Lord,  he  faithful  unto  death. 

3.  I  would  address  ;i  brief  word  of  parting  counsel  and  ex- 
hortation to  the  Members  of  the  Church.  As  I  look  round 
upon  this  great  assemblage,  my  eye  affects  my  heart.  I  can- 
not lmt  humbly  recognize  the  riches  of  Cod's  goodness  in 
making  my  ministry  among  you  so  fruitful.  Nearly  one-half 
of  the  present  membership  of  this  church  have  been  hopefully 
converted  to  God  since  my  pastorate  commenced.     To  such  T 


62 

may  say  with  the  apostle,  "  Though  you  have  ten  thousand 
instructors  in  Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers ;  for  in 
Christ  Jesus,  I  have  begotten  you  through  the  gospel."  This 
consideration  is  at  once  a  source  of  joy  and  of  sadness  at  the 
parting  hour:  of  joy  at  having  been  used  as  the  unworthy  in- 
strument of  a  change  which,  I  hope,  will  issue  in  your  eter- 
nal salvation ;  of  sadness  in  leaving  so  many  dear  spiritual 
children,  not  knowing  what  may  befall  them  when  I  am  gone. 
To  you,  my  beloved  children  in  the  gospel,  and  to  all  others, 
professors  of  godliness  in  this  congregation,  I  would  say,  You 
have  made  a  holy  profession,  sec  that  you  adorn  it  with  holy 
living.  There  is  no  greater  scandal  to  religion  than  the 
unchristian  life  of  professing  Christians.  Let  your  conver- 
sation be  as  it  becometh  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Study  Christ 
diligently,  to  the  end  that  you  may  follow  him  closely.  Study 
his  graces  of  humility,  meekness,  gentleness,  love,  sympathy, 
obedience,  temperance,  submission,  zeal  and  devotion,  as  the 
painter  studies  the  features  that  he  wishes  to  draw  to  the  life. 
Look  at  him,  think  of  him,  admire  him,  pant  after  him,  till 
every  attribute  of  his  nature  shall  become  so  entirely  your  own 
that  you  shall  be  transformed  into  the  same  likeness.  You  are 
Christians  in  name,  be  Christians  indeed.  You  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth;  beware  of  losing  your  savor.  You  are  the  light  of 
the  world ;  obscure  not  your  shining  by  the  vapors  of  corrup- 
tion. 

4.  I  desire  to  improve  the  opportunity  in  saying  a  few  words 
to  those  who  are  still  in  an  unconverted  state.  While  I  was 
with  you,  I  endeavored  faithfully  to  instruct  you,  solemnly  to 
warn  you,  and  affectionately  to  persuade  you  to  come  to  Christ. 
But  these  instructions,  warnings  and  persuasions  have  been 
thus  far  in  vain.  Would  that  a  different  issue  had  attended 
them  !  "Would  that  I  could  leave  you  safe  and  blessed  in  a 
vital  union  to  Christ !  "  But  it  is  otherwise  ;  I  leave  you  far  off, 
aliens  and  strangers,  wretched  subjects  and  captives  of  sin  and 
Satan,  without  God,  and  without  Christ  in  the  world."  Yet, 
ere  we  part,  let  me  leave  one  more  exhortation  with  you.  God 
has  pledged  all  his  glorious  perfections,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  on  his  Son  shall  have  eternal  life.  But  he  has  equally 
pledged  his  perfections,  that  he  that  believeth  not  shall  not 


63 

Bee  life.  In  the  world  of  despair,  lost  opportunity  cannot  be 
redeemed,  abused  Sabbaths  will  not  return,  a  rejected  Saviour 
will  not  be  offered,  an  aggrieved  Spirit  will  not  sock  to  win  you 
to  repentance.  "I  have  lost  a  daw"  was  the  sad  lament  of  a 
Roman  emperor  over  lost  opportunity.  "  1  Lave  lost  a  life," 
will  be  the  sadder  moan  of  the  sinner,  to  whom  the  day  of 
grace  is  over,  and  the  day  of  retribution  begun.  The  Roman 
prince  might  repair  the  loss  of  to-day  by  the  diligence  of  to- 
morrow. But  what  resource  will  you  have,  to  whom  no  to- 
morrow shall  ever  come?  A  lost  life,  a  lost  soul,  a  lost  heaven 
arc  e:one  irrecoverably — gone  forever.  I>ch<>ld  !  now  is  the 
accepted  time;  behold!  now  is  the  day  of  salvation. 

5.   I  would  address  a  few  parting  words   to  the  children  and 
youth  of  the  congregation.     A  number  of  you  have  already.  1 

hope,  set  your  face-  Xionward.  Happy  should  I  he.  could  I 
have  seen  many  others  of  you  walking  in  the  same  path,  and 
safe  within  the  inclosure  <>f  the  Saviour's  fold.  Mv  young 
friends,  let  me  say  to  you  at  parting,  as  I  have  said  before,  in 
the  words  of  the  royal  preacher,  ••  Remember  thy  Creator  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth."  Early  piety  will  save  you  from  many 
snares,  many  temptation-,  many  sins.  It  is  the  best  safeguard 
against  evil  :  it  is  the  surest  source  of  happiness.  Piety  is 
beautiful  at  any  age;  hut  most  beautiful  in  the  young.  It  is 
a  peculiarly  pleasing  Bight  to  see  young  people  walking  in 
the  ways  of  religion,  having  their  hearts  purified  and  their  lives 
sweetened  with  a  principle  of  divine  love.  <)  that  I  mighl 
leave  you  all  in  this  happy  state.  But  I  am  afraid  that  a  great 
part  of  you  still  remain  without  an  interest  in  Christ,  under 
the  frown  of  a  holy  Gk)d,  and  in  danger  of  eternal  misery. 
Alas!  that  1  must  leave  you  in  such  a  condition.  "  Dear  chil- 
dren, I  leave  you  in  an  evil  world,  that  is  full  of  snares  and 
temptations.  God  only  knows  what  will  become  of  you.  I 
pray  G-od  to  pity  you,  and  take  care  of  you,  and  provide  for 
you  the  best  means  for  the  good  of  your  souls.  Do  not  neglect 
to  pray  for  yourselves.  Take  heed  that  you  he  not  of  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  cast  off  fear  and  restrain  prayer  before  God. 
Constantly  i tray  to  God  in  secret;  and  often  remember  that 
great  day.  when  you  must  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ  and  meet  your  minister,  who  has  so  often  counseled 


64 

and  warned  you."  May  that  be  a  joyful  day  !  a  day  when,  as 
you  sing  in  your  beautiful  Sabbath  school  hymn,  we  shall 
"  meet  to  part  no  more." 

And  now,  my  beloved  people,  having  given  you  these  gene- 
ral and  particular  counsels  and  exhortations,  it  only  remains 
to  take  leave  of  you,  in  bidding  you  a  tender  and  affectionate 
farewell.  I  now  surrender  the  trust  which  I  received,  when 
you  called  me  to  be  your  minister.  I  give  back  to  the  Great 
Shepherd  your  precious  souls,  which  he  committed  to  me, 
when  he  called  me  to  be  your  under-shepherd.  The  moment 
of  separation  has  come.  We  part,  it  may  be,  to  meet  no  more, 
as  pastor  and  people,  till  we  meet  before  him  who  is  "the  Judge 
of  quick  and  dead."  I  leave  with  you  my  fervent  wishes  for 
your  prosperity,  temporal  and  spiritual.  I  desire  ever  to  re- 
member and  pray  for  this  dear  people.  "If  I  forget  thee,  0 
Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning."  May  the 
blessings  that  are  on  the  head  of  the  just  be  upon  your  head. 
May  the  good-will  of  Him  who  dwelt  in  the  bush  be  yours. 
And,  before  I  close,  let  me  ask  to  be  remembered  in  your 
prayers.  Bear  me  sometimes  on  your  hearts,  when  you  kneel 
before  the  mercy-seat.  "  And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you 
to  God  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you 
lip,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are 
sanctified."  We  part  now;  but  Ave  shall  meet  again.  We 
shall  meet,  when  sun  and  stars  have  ceased  to  shine.  We  shall 
meet,  when  months,  and  years,  and  ages  shall  be  no  more. 
Together  we  shall  stand  before  the  throne  of  judgment,  I  to 
render  an  account  of  my  ministry  among  you,  and  you  of 
the  entertainment  you  have  given  to  it.  Together  we  shall 
listen  to  the  infallible  and  the  unalterable  sentence.  Yes, 
beloved  brethren,  we  shall  meet  again.  May  we  meet,  happy, 
triumphant,  glorified ! — meet  to  be  for  ever  with  one  another, 
and  for  ever  with  the  Lord !  "2sTow  the  God  of  hope  fill  you 
with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  you  may  abound  in 
hope,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Farewell,  once 
and  a  thousand  times,  farewell.  And  may  the  blessing  of  the 
triune  God — the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit — rest 
upon  you  and  remain  with  you  for  ever  !     Amen  ! 


M   'V>- 


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